


Prince's Hymn

by Nicolle



Category: Deltarune, Undertale
Genre: Not a Crossover, supernatural horror
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-01
Updated: 2021-02-25
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:02:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 40,508
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26757682
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nicolle/pseuds/Nicolle
Summary: High on the ridge overlooking sleepy Nightrest, Chara Dreemurr lives like a ghost, forever mourning the loss of his wife and their daughter... Until Frisk, a child fleeing war, stumbles onto his property. But the politics surrounding Frisk's refugee status aren't the only worry for a human in the 'Monster Country.' The forest has eyes and they are all looking at Frisk.
Comments: 48
Kudos: 33





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: Undertale and Deltarune belong to Toby Fox. This story is copyright to me.
> 
> Author’s Note 1: This will have Deltarune references and wholesale stealing of characters, but isn’t a crossover.
> 
> Author’s Note 2: It took me two years to get this story off the ground, and I almost relegated it to my ‘lost interest’ file. So if you like what you’re reading and you want me to keep posting: tell me! Leave me a quick note saying you like it.

The bear’s snuffs and huffs gained on Frisk as she scrambled through the woods, desperately slipping, sliding, finding footing, slipping again. Her sides ached, lungs burning as she tried to outrun six hundred pounds of raging, razor clawed death. Her feet stung, toes mashing, sliding around inside torn, mud filled shoes. Tree branches lashed at her, and she threw an arm up to protect her face and eyes. She crashed through a bush, tripped on an exposed root, and rolled into an open field strewn with leaves. Digging her fingers into the muddy ground, she hauled herself to her feet, muscles straining from exhaustion with every gulp of air. She dashed for the trees across the field as the bear barrelled through the bushes after her, roaring for blood. Her feet went out from under her, face planting in slick leaves. The bear leaped, claws reaching for her.

A shot rang out and Frisk curled up in a ball, with her arms protecting her head. The bear hit the ground with a thud a few inches from her feet. Shaking, she chanced a look and saw the bear was missing the top of its head, blood and gray matter splattered across the ground. She let out a held breath, exhausted, tears leaking from her eyes as she squeezed her eyes shut. 

“Hey there, kiddo. It’s okay.” It was a man’s voice. She hadn’t heard footsteps on the grass.

Frisk opened her eyes but couldn’t find the energy to move. She stared up at the sky, trying to make sense of the sudden blue after days of nothing but forest canopy.

A hand gently touched her shoulder. “The bear’s dead. You’re safe.” A man with dark brown hair wearing a green puffer jacket and jeans carefully lifted her, turning her toward him.

Frisk caught sight of the rifle slung over his shoulder and a surge of adrenaline hit her. She shoved at him, flailing wildly to get away.

“Woah! Hey!” The man unshouldered the rifle, laying it on the ground and held up both hands. “It’s okay, kiddo. I’m not going to hurt you. My name’s Chara. And that’s just my hunting rifle.”

Frisk gulped the air, eyes squeezed shut.

The man picked up the rifle, shouldering it again before offering her a hand. “Come on. You need to get cleaned up,” he said. “And you could probably use a bite to eat.”

Frisk looked between him and the bear for a moment before nodding. She reached up, her dirty hand sliding into his. He smiled warmly and helped Frisk find her feet. Her exhaustion caught up and she wobbled, stumbling into him.

“Woah!” Chara quickly lifted her, one arm coming under her knees. “Hey there, kiddo. Stay with me.”

She looked up at his boyish face, concentrating hard on his chin. 

“We’re going to the house over there,” he said. 

Frisk looked in the direction he carried her. At the other end of the field two, A-frame houses stood like sentinels against the forest around them, one large, one small, both glass fronted and reflecting the beauty of the world around them. In her panic narrowed vision, she hadn’t noticed the A-frames, the safety she’d been praying for from the moment she’d stumbled into the bear’s territory. They were big, even from the other side of the leaf strewn field.

Going around the back of the larger A-frame, Chara opened the door into a mudroom. Sitting Frisk down on the bench, she watched while he locked the rifle away in the gun cabinet. 

Frisk groaned, rubbing the sides of her head. Everything hurt and her head pounded. 

Chara knelt in front of her and frowned as he took a better look at her. Then sighed and helped her out of her navy windbreaker, which fell apart in his hands once it was off. Underneath the jacket was a blue and purple striped uniform polo with a school crest obscured under forest grime. Frisk’s bare arms were scraped up from running through the woods, the jacket not having been made to take that sort of punishment. He eased her shoes off, the soles coming away on both and found dirty feet. No socks. Angry-red bug bites covered her visible skin.

Helping Frisk stand, Chara walked her into the first floor bathroom next to the mud room. Finding a bottle of apple scented shampoo in the closet, he placed it on the edge of the tub. 

“Will you be okay to shower?”

Frisk nodded. 

“There’s a towel right next to the curtain. Just leave your clothes in a pile on the floor. I’ll find you some fresh ones.”

Frisk nodded and trudged toward the tub as the door closed. She tore at her uniform polo, fighting to get it off, and it hit the floor with a muddy splat. She ignored it, trembling as she stared at her stomach. She was covered in black ticks, engorged on her blood. Bull’s eye rashes had developed across her skin. She quickly reached to grab at them only to stop, hands trembling. 

“Don’t pull,” she whispered. “Tweezers.”

She looked around and spotted a mirrored cabinet over the sink. Opening it, she found an extra bottle of hand soap and nothing else. 

“Okay,” Frisk said. “I just get a shower, ask for tweezers, and hope this guy is actually as nice as he seems and that I’m not in some murder house.” 

Frisk closed the cabinet and flinched at her reflection, the sallow, dark rings under her eyes. She pulled off her slacks, which were just dirty and otherwise miraculously unscathed from her ordeal. Tossing her underwear on the pile, she turned on the water in the tub and, after a little fiddling, figured out how to get the shower started. She stepped into the water, letting the spray hit her face, and tried to remember when her last shower was. Three days? Four? She’d been at the stables behind Marble Hills Academy, brushing down North Star, her favorite horse. She’d just come back from riding when...

Her eyes squeezed shut and she covered her ears, unable to block the sound of the missile hitting the main building, the explosions, the screams, the gunfire.

Chara listened at the bathroom door for a moment and turned away when he heard the water run. He opened the linen closet. Skipping the top shelf filled with towels and the middle shelves filled with toiletries, he pulled out a zippered storage bag filled with all the clothes his nieces, nephews, and various scouts had left behind over the years, or not claimed after outings. Digging through it, he found a green sweater with dinosaurs on it, good for keeping the growing cold outside at bay, brown pants that looked to be the right size, a pair of socks, and sneakers that were a touch too big, but not unwearable.

He dropped the clean clothing on the end of the bench, and headed down the hall into the kitchen. He found his phone and, leaning against a counter, dialed.

“Nightrest Police. Is this an emergency?”

“No,” Chara answered. “Direct my call to the Sheriff’s office please. Tell Undyne it’s Christopher Dreemurr calling.”

“Sure thing, Chara. I’ll pass you along.”

Hold music filled the speakers for a moment before a click sounded. “Morning, Nerd!”

“Hey, Dyne. I’m calling to report…” he trailed off eyes on the bear on the other end of the field. 

It stood up, shook itself, and walked back into the woods via the bush it had crashed out of.

“Chara?” Undyne’s voice was quiet. “Do you need me to come up to the house?”

Chara stared after the bear. “Can you hold for a minute?”

“Yes.”

Chara set the phone down and ran through the living room and out the front door, a longsword forming in his hand. He dashed across the field and knelt next to where the bear had lain. The imprint of its body was still in the grass and leaves, it’s prints clear from walking away. The gray matter and blood that had been on the ground was gone. He turned toward the bush, the sword in his hand glowing as he brought it up. Stepping toward the edge of the field, he listened carefully, ears straining. Pushing aside the bush, he came into the forest proper. The tracks of the bear disappeared mid step. Kneeling, he touched the ground, running his fingers along an invisible line. 

Frowning, he stood and went back to the house, his sword disappearing as he stepped in the front door. Picking up the phone, he leaned against the counter.

“Still there, Dyne?”

“What’s going on?”

“I shot a bear chasing down a kid in the field,” he answered. “Took the top of it’s head clean off. It just got up and walked back into the woods. When I followed, the tracks disappeared mid step.”

“How are the wards on the property?” she asked.

“Intact.” Chara looked back out across the field, eyes searching the line between the grass and the forest. 

“Where’s the kid?”

He blinked, broken out of his stare. “Getting cleaned up. I’ll bring her into town as soon as she’s gotten some food in her. She looks like she’s been in the woods for a few days, so I’ll take her to the doctor’s office first.”

“Anyone you recognize?” she asked.

“No.” He paused. “She’s human, Dyne.”

Undyne’s tongue clicked loud enough for Chara to hear it. “Get her name and Sans will look her up.”

“Will do.” Chara hung up, putting the phone on the counter. 

And noticed that he was muddy from carrying the girl. Taking the stairs up to the second floor and the master bedroom, he took a moment to put on a fresh pair of jeans and sweater; adjusting the golden, heart shaped locket around his neck. He caught a look at himself in the mirror and paused long enough to pull his brown hair back into a stubby ponytail.

Walking back downstairs to the bathroom, he listened and only heard water running. Frowning, he knocked. “You okay, kiddo?”

Frisk whimpered. 

Chara opened the door and stepped inside the bathroom. Not seeing a shadow behind the shower curtain, he pulled it gently and found Frisk sitting in the tub, knees drawn up and crying. He hit the shower release and water poured into the tub as he stoppered the drain. Grabbing the shampoo, he pushed his sleeves up and went to work scrubbing the girl down; not liking any of what he was seeing.

Her hair was badly matted. She was heavily bruised and had several, partially healed lacerations on her arms. Several ticks were attached to her stomach, and the tale tall bull's eye rash of Lyme Disease appeared in a few places on her skin. Her feet, despite being covered in all sorts of forest debris, seemed none the worse for wear, and he was thankful for that. After making sure she was clean, he wrapped her up in a towel, set her on the toilet, and worked to carefully remove the ticks with a pair of tweezers. 

“Once you’re fed, I'm taking you into town to see the doctor. You’re going to need a full round of doxycycline. That's a medicine for the disease the ticks gave you,” he said.

As soon as the last tick was pulled, Frisk threw her arms around him suddenly, crying hard against his chest. Sighing, Chara lifted her a bit awkwardly, holding her until the tears subsided. After wiping at her face a bit, the Frisk reached for the dirty clothes on the floor.

“Don’t put those on,” he said, standing. He grabbed the clothing from the bench. “This will do for now,” he said.

Frisk sniffed and dressed, pulling the sweater over her head last. When it hung loosely, comfortably, she looked at herself in the mirror, blinking at her reflection, and sniffed again. She looked at Chara. “You changed your clothes.”

He looked at the green sweater he now wore and shrugged. “No use going into town in dirty clothes. My mother and sisters would never let me hear the end of it.” He nodded toward the door. “The kitchen’s this way.”

Frisk perked up and followed Chara into the hall that connected the back door to the living room and kitchen. She walked into a warm, wood dominated, living room arranged around a stone fireplace. She went over to the fireplace and touched the stone carving, a set of twisting vines and flowers with forest animals poking out here and there. Chara patted the blue-green granite topped peninsula that separated the kitchen from the living room. She crawled up onto a stool to face the kitchen.

“What’s going to happen to me?” Frisk asked.

“What do you mean?” Chara asked.

She looked around the house, noting the exits.

Chara smirked and stifled a snort. “Gotta name?” He turned to the fridge, opening the door.

“Frisk.”

Chara froze, staring blindly. The icy dagger long lodged in his heart, twisted suddenly and savagely.

“Frisk Pierce.”

He blinked a few times, shaking away the stupor, forcing away the pain. “Nice to meet you, Frisk. The name’s Christopher Dreemurr. I’ve got some leftover chicken soup in here.” He looked over his shoulder. “Will that do?” he asked.

“You said your name was ‘Chara.’”

“It’s what most people call me.”

She poked at the countertop. “Are you related to the Dreemurrs? The ones in Kaparia?”

Chara turned to face her. “You’re in Kaparia.” 

Frisk’s jaw dropped. “The Monster Country?!”

“Yes.”

“Are you… human?” she asked, muscles tensed, ready to bolt.

“I am,” Chara said. “There are humans in Kaparia. Though we are in the minority.” 

“Will the monsters hurt me?”

Chara sighed, rubbing his temples with one hand. “No. Let’s focus on food. Will the soup do?”

Frisk nodded enthusiastically. “Please.”

He pulled out the soup and popped the lid to go in the microwave. “After you’ve eaten, I’ll take you into town. I’m really surprised that you managed to run from the bear. You definitely have Lyme Disease and it typically makes you very tired. Where are you from?”

Frisk fidgeted for a moment before sighing. “Andorini.”

Chara put the bowl of soup in front of her and handed her a spoon. “How did you get here?”

Frisk shook her head and dug into the soup, slurping noodles vigorously. Like she hadn’t eaten real food in a while.

“Where are your parents?”

Frisk paused, staring down into the soup, mind racing. Failing lie fabrication, she changed the subject. “I’m sorry about making you need to go somewhere to take care of me.” She continued eating, using the food as an excuse not to speak.

“I have to go into town anyway to pick up Toby and Niko. They should be done at the vet’s by now.”

She looked up, excited. “Doggos?”

Chara leaned over the counter, putting his face in hers and noted that her eyes were a certain peridot green: the dagger twisted again. “Where are your parents?”

Frisk took a deep breath and looked toward the windows out onto the field. “I don’t know. I was at school. The riding instructor put me on a horse when the school was attacked.” She stared into her bowl as if trying to divine the future. “What’s going to happen to me?”

Chara leaned back against the counter, arms folded over his chest. “Are you asking if you’re going to be sent back home?”

Frisk nodded.

“No one is sending a child back into a war zone. Things are pretty bad in Andorinni right now. I’m going to take you to the doctor’s office. After the doctor has looked you over, we’ll go to the municipal building and find out where your parents are and what your legal status is.” 

He gave her an encouraging smile. “I know what I just said sounds scary, but if worse comes to worst, you’ll be spending a few nights with the Andersons. They are the local respite family. After that, you’ll go to the capital for a refugee hearing and the foreign council will attempt to locate your parents.”

Frisk looked away. “My parents are divorced. They have other families now.”

Chara sighed, the dagger twisting a bit deeper. As soon as Frisk was done with the soup, he helped her into his jeep. The ride down the ridge in the jeep was silent, Frisk’s eyes on the forest surrounding the road. 

“What’s it like in Kaparia?” Frisk asked.

“Quiet. At least in my neck of the woods.”

“Are there fae here?” Frisk asked, turning in her seat to look at him.

Chara spared her a glance. “They stay in their realm and we stay in ours.”

“We? Do you mean humans or monsters?” 

“Both.”

Once the tree line pulled away, a clear blue sky crowned the hamlet in the valley below. A tall mountain rose up on the other side of the town, as if to compete with the ridge, the long flat line of which didn’t seem to care. One main road went down the center of town connecting brick layed streets and quaint, white painted buildings sporting orange roofs. Autumn’s splendor made the town a masterpiece of reds and golds which the townsfolk had augmented with lavish plantings of autumn lettuces and brightly colored mums. 

“Wow…” Frisk breathed, leaning toward the window.

Chara smiled. “Welcome to Nightrest.”

He pulled into one of the empty parking spaces in front of city hall and came around the jeep to help Frisk down. They walked next door to Dr. Gaster’s office, a two story building in white with a picture window listing the clinic hours in an old-timey font. All was quiet in the little, wood panelled waiting room. A pink rabbit in green nurses’ scrubs, looked up from the desk. 

“Hello, Kelly. Is Dr. Gaster available?” Chara asked.

The rabbit nurse nodded. “The Sheriff called and told us to expect you. I’ll get her.”

Frisk jerked on Chara’s shirt. “You called the police on me?!”

“No. I called to report shooting a bear out of season and called the police on you,” he said, rolling his eyes. He smiled and patted her head. “It’s okay. No one in Nightrest is going to hurt you.”

Kelly disappeared behind a door only to reappear with a very tall, skeleton-ish woman sporting a crack in her skull running down under her left eye socket to her mouth. She wore a long, black dress and a long, white lab coat over it, emphasizing her height. Dr. Gaster smiled when she saw Chara which had the effect of looking like a slash.

“Hello, Christopher.”

“Hello, Doctor.” He moved Frisk so that she stood in front of him. “This is Frisk. I found her being chased down by a bear outside my house. I pulled twenty three ticks off of her and she has a bunch of bull’s eye rashes to go with them. And I’m worried she might have other injuries.”

Gaster bent over at the waist, her body making a severe right angle, so that she was black eye socket to eye with the child, one skeletal hand coming up to touch her mandible thoughtfully. 

“Frisk?” The pin prick white lights that made the doctor’s eyes flicked up at Chara for a moment before looking back at the girl. “You are not one of my patients. Where are your parents?”

Frisk shook her head, hunched in on herself, staring at her feet. 

Chara patted her head. “I’m heading next door to talk to Sans about that.” 

The doctor gestured to the girl. “Please show me the rashes.” 

Frisk lifted the sweater reluctantly, showing off a stomach of bruises and red bull’s eyes. The doctor nodded and Frisk put her shirt back down. 

“It appears as though you crawled through the woods on your stomach…” the doctor trailed off and then shook her skull. “No. You were sleeping in the woods. Correct?”

Frisk nodded, leaning back against Chara.

The boney hands reached out, cupping the girl’s face and feeling around her neck and shoulders, uncaring of how the child stiffened. “Your lymph nodes are swollen and you feel like skin and bones. When was your last meal?”

“I ate at Mr. Dreemurr’s--”

“Before that.”

Frisk shook her head. “I don’t know. Um… a couple days?”

The doctor straightened up, standing tall again, hands held behind her back. “Where are you from?”

“Andorini.”

“Interesting. A refugee?” she mused.

“From where?” Chara asked. “There isn’t a refugee camp anywhere near here and the border is almost five hundred miles away. The Barrier was raised months ago.”

“I walked,” Frisk whispered.

“From Andorini? Over several mountains?” Dr. Gaster asked.

Frisk stared at her feet. “I’m not lying. I was on a horse to start but… I don’t know where he is. I don’t remember when I lost him. I walked here. I don’t know for how long.” She squeezed her eyes a bit, trying to remember past the gray fog in her head. 

“When the gunfire started, Professor Evans put me on one of the horses at the academy. I think she said something about the horse knowing where to go. I must have fallen off at some point because I woke up in the woods against a tree and started walking. I slept when it was dark and walked when it was light.”

The doctor and Chara looked at each other.

“Then you are very lucky to be alive,” Dr. Gaster concluded. She lifted her skeletal hands. “Please remain still.”

A purple glow surrounded the girl and she gasped, hugging herself, eyes squeezed shut, but remained in place.

Dr. Gaster’s eye sockets closed and she hummed thoughtfully as her magic worked over the girl. “You have Lyme. I’ll give you a prescription for it. No broken bones. A few cuts and bruises some monster candy will easily treat. Definite dehydration. You’ll need to drink more fluids. You have several bug bites, but appear to not have any other issues from them. You’re fifteen but have only just reached menarche. Interesting.”

The magic withdrew and the doctor turned to the desk to write out a prescription. “If you can’t keep the medicine down, take it with some wheat toast, no butter.” She turned to Chara, handing him the script. “Her hair needs taken care of as well.”

“My hair?” Frisk patted her head.

Chara smirked. “It’s a mess. We’ll hit the salon before we’re done today.”

Dr. Gaster turned to the nurse. “Kelly? Please write this up as a courtesy visit.”

Chara pulled out his wallet. “No need. I’ll pay for the visit out of pocket. Still thirty?”

Kelly nodded and wrote up a receipt while Chara handed her cash. She pulled a piece of jewel red candy from a dish, holding it out to Frisk. She looked at the candy, unsure.

“Why is it called monster candy?” Frisk asked.

Kelly smiled. “Because it’s made from the juice of ‘monster’ fruit. It’s native to the more tropical regions of Kaparia and looks like the egg of some monster. The juice is very good at holding magic and is used in many medicines.”

Chara patted her back to move her forward. “Take it. It’s cherry flavored and you’ll feel a lot better after eating it.” 

Frisk looked up at him for a moment before taking the candy and popping it in her mouth. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” Kelly said.

Chara held out his hand to Frisk. “Come on.”

Frisk took his hand, and before going out the door, tentatively waved back at the doctor and nurse inside. After dropping off the prescription at the pharmacy for filling, they walked into the municipal building, taking the door into the police office. 

A large, purple flamingo in an officer’s uniform sat behind the front desk. She smiled when she saw Chara, which had the effect of twisting the beak under in a sharp hook. “Hello, Mr. Dreemurr. I’m told your here to see Sans?”

A door opened behind her and an Amazon of a fish woman with bright red hair and blue scales in an officer’s uniform appeared. A large smile filled her face. Frisk quickly grabbed ahold of Chara’s sweater.

“Afternoon, Nerd!” Sheriff Undyne called.

Chara smiled. “Hey, Dyne.” 

“What’s your name, honey?” Undyne asked, peering down at the girl.

Frisk stared up at the fish woman, wide eyed. “Frisk.”

Undyne’s smile fell and she looked at Chara for a moment before recovering her exuberant expression. “Nice to meet you!” 

A skeleton monster who looked too rotund to actually just be just bones under his blue hoodie and black shorts, came in behind Chara and Frisk. His dark blue uniform seemed too formal under the hoodie. Frisk turned around, still hugging close to Chara.

“*hey there, kiddo. the name’s sans. sans tarsus.” Sans jerked a skeletal thumb at the door. “*dr. g called the school counselor about our newcomer.”

“Hello, Chara!” Toriel, a tall, white, goat woman in a purple pant suit, waved at her son enthusiastically.

“Hi, Mom.”

Frisk’s eyes went from the white haired woman and back to Chara suspiciously. “Mom?”

“My sister and I are adopted.” Chara gestured to Frisk. “Mom, this is Frisk. Frisk, this is Toriel Dreemurr.”

Toriel looked at Chara sharply before her smile snapped back into place. She held out a hand. “Pleased to meet you, Frisk. I’m here to give you a snack and keep you company while Chara and Sans talk.”

Frisk gripped Chara’s arm. “Why?”

Toriel smiled patiently. “Because you aren’t allowed to eat in Officer Sans’ office.”

Chara pushed Frisk forward a little. “Go on. You’ll be fine. I need to talk to the Comedian.”

Frisk thought about it for a moment before giving Chara the most serious look she could muster. “Don’t ditch me.”

Chara chuckled in spite of himself. “I won’t. Go on. If she takes you anywhere besides the lobby, I know where she lives. I’ll be with Sans in his office. My mother knows how to find it.” He looked to his mother. “She’s dehydrated, so--”

Toriel lifted a bag. “Bottled water and orange slices!” She smiled. “Dr. Gaster let me know.”

Frisk looked for a nod from Chara and then followed Toriel out the door. 

“*frisk, huh? ouch. sorry, man.”

Chara sighed. “Yeah. Fuck me, right?”

Undyne gasped, mouth hanging open, “You DO know how to curse!”

He gave her a sidelong look. “Don’t mention that to my scouts. They’ll turn it into a competition to see who can get me to swear next.” He sighed. “Her name is Frisk Pierce and she says she’s from Andorini. Let’s go look her up.”

Sans’ office was small and spartan. He had a desk, a couple chairs, a computer, and a window that looked out on the brick face of the next building. It wasn’t anything exciting, but Chara knew being a police officer wasn’t Sans’ actual job. Chara settled in a chair, expecting this to take a while. 

“*what do we know besides her name?” Sans asked.

Chara grimaced. “She mentioned that her parents were divorced and had their own families. And she said it with just the right tone to indicate that she wasn’t a part of either.”

“*abandoned without being officially abandoned, huh?” Sans pointed at the screen. “*this isn’t good. pierce is the main bloodline of royals in andorini.”

Chara sat up straight in the chair. “Is she a match for anyone?”

“*checking. divorce rates in andorini are at twenty-three percent, so i’m going down the list of pierces who are also divorced. there aren’t that many.” Sans frowned. “*found her. arabella aramita asteraneth frisk pierce.” Sans turned the monitor toward Chara and the photo of Frisk. She was wearing the striped polo he’d found her in. 

Chara leaned in, using his finger to guide his eyes as he read the information on the screen. “Fifteen years old. Five feet tall. Birthday June 14th. She’s a descendant of the main royal line.”

Sans nodded solemnly. “*on both sides no less. the whole family is listed as dead. mother, father, step parents, half siblings. everyone. including frisk. according to the latest reports, the rebels are killing all blood relations to the royal line of andorinni.” 

Both fell silent as the officer door opened. Frisk came in and sat in the chair next to Chara, giving him a little smile. Toriel came in and closed the door.

“What do we know?” Toriel asked.

Sans frowned deeply. “*what we know is that there is no possible way for the kiddo to be here right now. her last known position in andorini is dated the eighteenth. three days ago. you could hike from there to here, but it’d still take you a month and that’s if you were an experienced hiker who knew how to avoid the more dangerous things in the woods.”

Frisk stood up, hands on the desk. “I swear I walked it!”

Sans held up both boney hands. “*i’m not calling you a fibber, kiddo. i’m saying that the math doesn’t add up. and that still doesn’t answer how you came through the barrier.” Sans tapped a boney finger against his mandible. “*maybe something was carrying you. something that could go through the barrier.”

“Or come by Mount Ebbott,” Toriel said.

Chara threw up his hands. “So one of the near-mythical beings of the forest decided to take pity on her instead of harm her? Or let the forest animals eat her? I don’t buy that.”

“*it will need looking into either way. an andorini national with royal blood has ended up deep in kaparia territory on the doorstep of a member of the dreemurr royal family. it’s suspicious to say the least.”

Frisk looked at Sans. “Royal blood?” She looked to Chara. “Royal family?”

Chara sat back, looking at her. “Did you not know that you were a royal?”

Frisk frowned. “I’m pretty sure that I’m related to the royal family the same way everyone in Andorinni is related to some member or other of the royal line: distantly.”

“*you’re a bit closer than that, kiddo.”

“Okay.” Frisk looked down at her feet. “Is that why my school was attacked?”

Toriel took the girl’s hand in her. “Don’t put that on yourself, my child. We can never know why a terrorist acts so senselessly.”

Chara sighed. “So now what? I’m not letting her near a refugee camp. If someone realizes that Frisk is a member of the royal line, she becomes a target.”

Sans shrugged. “*we give her a new name and a new birth certificate and we all pretend that she’s always lived in nightrest.”

Frisk looked between them all. “Just like that? Can you even do that?”

“It’s easy enough. You’re in an office with three people who can just make that sort of thing happen,” Chara said. “Who are we listing as her parents?”

Toriel crossed her arms over her chest. “Christopher Nathan and Frisk Adeline Dreemurr.”

Chara turned in his chair. “What.”

Toriel grimaced. “Forgive me, Chara.” She knelt next to the chair, taking her son’s hands in hers. “But it is the right amount of time for her age. Frisk died fifteen years ago. And she looks enough like both of you for it to not be suspicious: brown hair like yours and green eyes like Frisk’s.”

Chara glowered at his mother. “And where has my daughter been all this time? Living with my sister? Where everyone and their brother would have seen her in New Home? Like I would give up my own child like that.”

Sans hummed thoughtfully. “*if we just tell everyone to say the kiddo’s always been here, everyone will.” His eyes slid over to Chara. “*it’s not the first time we’ve done it.”

Chara’s head sank to his chest. “I need a minute.” He stood and left the office, disappearing down the hall.

Frisk looked down the empty hall. “He… He doesn’t have to take me in.” She turned to Toriel. “It’s okay. I mean, it’s weird isn’t it? To just take some random person in so suddenly?”

Sans stood and gestured for Frisk to follow him. “*he’ll take you, kiddo. he just needs a minute to let the idea settle in.”

Toriel sighed. “I’ll go get him.”

“*no. you know what you’ve just asked him: to pretend that the little girl he lost the same day he lost his wife isn’t dead. he isn’t a child, tori. he doesn’t need his mother. he needs someone else.” Sans offered Frisk his hand and she took it tentatively, shivering a little when his skeletal fingers wrapped around her hand.

Heading out the door and down the hall, Sans hit the crash bar on a door that led out behind the municipal building. Sitting on the pavement, back against the brick wall, Chara had one knee drawn up. He stared up at the ridge, tears silently running down his flushed cheeks. Frisk looked up at Sans.

“What do I do?” she asked.

Sans gave her an encouraging smile and patted her shoulder. “*go give him a hug.”

Frisk blinked and bit her lip, unsure. Taking a deep breath, she knelt next to Chara, and put her arms around him, resting her face against his shoulder. He sniffed loudly and pulled her into his lap, hugging her tightly for a few moments.

Chara sighed and wiped at his eyes. “Hey.” He petted Frisk’s matted hair as she sat up. “We need to pick up your medicine and see Dr. Gaster about your birth certificate. You’re probably ready for some dinner and we still need to pick up the dogs.”

“You’re taking me in? Just like that?”

Chara sighed and nodded. “Do you object?”

Frisk’s face fell. “I don’t know you and you’re just… looking out for me? I don’t get it.” She looked at the ground. “I don’t understand. Why do you care? I couldn’t get my parents to care and they’re supposed too. Why is a random stranger...” She trailed off and covered her face with her hands, taking a few deep breaths before her shoulders heaved and she sobbed. 

“Hey. It’s okay. It’s okay.” Chara pulled her back to his chest, petting her head. “There’s a couple reasons, but for right now, we’ll go with me knowing exactly how you feel. My mother obviously did not give birth to me.” His wedding ring caught in her hair and he gently untangled his fingers from her head. “We really need to do something about your hair.”

Chara helped Frisk stand before finding his feet. Sans stood at the door, hands in his pockets, holding the door open for them simply by leaning against it. Toriel stood just inside the door.

“*heading over to catty’s then?”

Chara nodded.

Toriel’s hands came up on either side of her son’s face, gently cupping his cheeks. “Oh! You’re all flushed!”

“Yes, yes. I know,” Chara gritted, “Chrissy and I both have rosy cheeks.”

“It is really cute,” Frisk added.

He raised an eyebrow at her. “Don’t start.”

Toriel let go of her son and took a step back, drawing herself up. “Now that it’s settled, things will be different in your house. You have another person to look after now and you can’t just be doing whatever you like. You need to make sure that she’s properly educated and clothed. And she’ll need proper socializing. You can’t just keep her up on the mountain all the time.”

Chara frowned deeply. “Mother…”

“And be sure you feed Frisk properly! You can’t be giving her junk food. She has to eat healthy.” Toriel gave her son a bright smile, even as his expression went black.

“*cut and run now, tori.”

“Have a good night!”

As soon as Toriel was out of earshot, Frisk looked up at Chara. “We’re getting pizza for dinner, right?”

He looked down at her with a smile. “Oh yeah.”


	2. Chapter 2

Frisk took a bite of pizza, the cheese coming away in a long string from the slice. She bit the cheese out of the air. Chara shook his head, before sighing and sipping his water. The local pizzeria was on the empty side and a family of bird monsters took up a table near the booth Chara and Frisk occupied. The starfish-like monster working the pizza had been surprised to see them come in, but settled back into pizza making quickly enough.

“So what do you do for a living?” Frisk asked around several bites of pizza.

“I’m an artist.”

“Really?!” Frisk stared up at him, eyes wide and sparkling. 

“I think you’re the first person not to blow off that answer.”

Frisk bounced in her seat. “What kind of art?”

Chara smiled and shook his head. “The art I specifically do for a living is stone carving. The fireplace in the house? That’s one of my pieces.”

“Really?” Frisk leaned over the table. “It’s so beautiful! How did you become an artist?”

“No one ever stopped me,” Chara said. “No one even looked at me weird when I went to art school.” He took a bite of his pizza.

“Is that how you met your wife?” Frisk asked, poking at the paper placemat under her plate.

Chara snorted softly, “No. I didn’t meet her until after I joined the royal guard.”

“Really?” Frisk huffed, shoulders dropping. “Those two things don’t go together.” 

“I didn’t want to be an artist when I grew up,” Chara explained. “I wanted to be in the royal guard. Once I made the guard, my first assignment was outreach. I spent every day at the area schools in the capital talking to students interested in joining the armed forces and teaching firearms courses. That’s where I met Frisk. She was a teacher.”

Frisk frowned, eyes on the paper placemat as she poked it. “That’s why everyone looks at you funny when I say my name. It’s her name too.”

Chara nodded. 

“It’s okay if you change my name. Call me something other than Frisk.”

“No. It’s not.”

They looked at each other for a full minute before Frisk picked up her pizza again. “Did you ask her out right away?” 

Chara shook his head, smiling a little. “No. That would not have been the least bit professional. When the outreach assignment ended, I asked her to join me for dinner. We married two and a half years after that.”

Frisk sat up straight. “That’s quick.”

Chara pointed at her. “If you’re dating someone and after a year, you don’t know whether or not you want to marry them, you need to drop the relationship and move on. Got it?”

Frisk nodded. 

“Good. Frisk grew up here in Nightrest and wanted to raise our children here, so I arranged my discharge from the royal guard and we built the A-frames. I became a full time artist and she took a job teaching at the school in town.”

Frisk swallowed hard before the next question. “What happened?”

Chara looked away, eyes on the clouds in the darkening sky beyond the window. “Frisk was chaperoning her students on a field trip to a national monument when a terrorist group attacked it. She saved the kids’ lives, but at the cost of her own.”

“Sans said you had a daughter. That I was the ‘right age.’”

Chara nodded and picked up his pizza slice. “Frisk wasn’t that far from giving birth; a little girl named Isabella. It’s why there’s now a Barrier between Kaparia and Andorini.” He looked at Frisk. “Your turn. What’s your sad story?” He took a bite of his pizza and waited.

“When I was seven, my parents divorced and, at first, it was okay. They promised to always love me and that I was always their little girl.” Frisk flicked the paper placemat with one finger. “And then they both started dating other people and it became really clear that me being around wasn’t winning them their dream dates. I was put in a boarding school and when school wasn’t in session, I was left with a distant relative.”

“Were you at school when the revolution started?”

Frisk blinked, staring at the table. “That’s when… I...” She squeezed her eyes shut and covered her face with her hands. 

Chara quickly moved to her side of the table, putting an arm around her shoulder and holding her tightly against him. 

“Deep breaths,” he said. “Take nice, deep breaths, all the way down to your belly, and let them out slowly.”

Frisk shuddered against him, and he rocked her gently back and forth.

“Let the noise in your head fade away. You are very far away from the noise. You aren’t at school. You’re at a restaurant. You’re eating pizza. Breath in, nice and deep.”

Frisk breathed in deeply, the sound in her head fading away as she rocked back and forth, her head resting against Chara’s side. 

“I…” Frisk started and then sniffed. “Can we talk about something else?”

“Anything you like,” Chara answered.

“Um…” Frisk blinked a few times, holding onto Chara’s sweater. “Do you make good money as an artist?”

“It’s a decent amount of money, but it’s not my primary income.” He pointed out the window and her eyes followed. “See the cell phone tower on the mountain?”

Frisk nodded.

“It sits on my property and the company pays me a nice chunk of change in rent every month,” he said.

“Nice.” Frisk looked up at him. “Sorry.”

“For what?”

“I don’t know what happened,” she said, hunching in on herself. “It won’t happen again. Promise.”

Chara took her chin in his hand and lifted it so that she looked at him. “You aren’t allowed to make that promise. You went through something people aren’t supposed to go through. What’s happening to you is normal. And tomorrow I’m going to get you set up to talk with the right person about it, okay?”

Frisk nodded, sniffing. Chara pulled his handkerchief out of his pocket and handed it to her. She daintily blew her nose.

“So what happens next?” she asked.

“First, your hair. Second, your medicine. Third, the doggos. We’ll worry about your birth certificate, getting you a wardrobe, and setting you up at school tomorrow.”

Frisk frowned. “What kind of school?”

Chara cuddled her close again. “I’m not sending you to a boarding school. If you go away at all, it will be for a day trip or summer camp.” He sat back. “In Kaparia, you aren’t sorted into grades grouped by age. You take classes based on your personal mastery of the subject and whether or not your parents are teaching the subject at home. School starts at ten hundred and ends at fifteen hundred and you might not be there for all of that time.”

Frisk held up her hand, counting the time. “So only four lessons a day?”

Chara shook his head. “Five. Lunch isn’t a break. You just eat in class.”

“That’s weird.”

He shrugged. 

“So what classes will you teach?”

Chara smiled wryly. “We’ll see about that tomorrow. Get some more food in your belly. I want to get you to Catty’s before she closes for the night.”

After dinner, they found the salon was empty but for Catty, a large, purple catwoman in a purple, off the shoulder dress, with overly long claws painted a wild array of colors. Frisk was put in the chair right away. She poked at Frisk’s head for a moment or two.

“Let’s see what I can do about this matting. It looks like you haven’t seen a brush for weeks.” 

Frisk smiled sheepishly.

“So your hair was like that before you even got to the woods?” Chara asked, arms crossed over his chest. 

Frisk shrugged. “My brush was confiscated.”

“After?”

Frisk smiled proudly. “I used it as a weapon.”

Catty laughed! “Oh. My. Gawd! What a spitfire!”

Catty looked over Frisk’s hair for a moment before spraying it down with water, then grabbing a bottle of conditioner, and dumping it on the girl’s head. Rubbing the hair, she worked the conditioner in. After waiting a few minutes for the conditioner to work its magic, Catty sectioned off the hair into four parts and used her claws to gently untangle the smaller knots. Selecting a comb from a drawer, Catty combed out the hair, working up from the bottom, occasionally stopping to thin out a particularly harsh mat with scissors. 

After an hour of combing, Frisk’s hair looked clean, soft, and orderly. Catty gave the hair a rinse before evening out the edges with scissors and curling them under in a soft bob.

“There! Now you look like a million bucks!” Catty said. She looked to Chara. “Are you up next?”

“I’m growing it out a bit. Sales are better at shows when I look the part.”

“Well, at least you can pull off long hair.” Catty tapped away at a tablet. “Let’s see. Frisk Dreemurr. Conditioning for matting. Traditional bob at chin line. Done. It’s fifteen today.”

Chara pulled out his wallet. 

“When you make shampoo for her, make sure it’s got coconut oil in it. Her hair is a bit on the dry side.”

Frisk grabbed Chara’s arm. “We’re going to make shampoo?! That sounds awesome!”

Chara patted her head. “This weekend.” He paid Catty, tipping her generously. “Come on, kiddo. Let’s go get your medicine. The sooner we leave, the sooner Catty can call everyone in town to gossip.”

“How dare you sell me short!” Catty gasped. “I started texting Bratty as soon as you walked in the door! I mean, seriously! Prince Chara adopting a little girl?! That’s news!!! The queen has to be totally thrilled!”

Chara rolled his eyes and directed Frisk out the door only to have the girl stop him on the sidewalk. 

“‘Prince’ Chara?”

Chara crossed his arms over his chest. “There is no way a child from Andorini doesn’t know the name of the ruling family of the next country over.”

“Yeah. But… I mean, even with adoption, you wouldn’t be a prince… right?”

Chara sighed, and gave her a bemused smile. “Christina, my sister, was really upset that our older sister Astelle was a princess and she wasn’t. And our grandfather has a serious soft spot for Chrissy. So he gave us titles.”

“Oh… Wait! Does that mean that I was having a snack with the QUEEN?!” 

Chara nodded.

Frisk waved her arms. “Woah. Wait! If she’s the queen, why is she living here and not in the capital?”

“It’s a…” Chara looked toward the trees that claimed the mountain. “Complicated situation. Technically, she’s retired from public life. It’s hard for Dad to have her so far away, but she has a role here in Nightrest.” 

Chara pointed to a few doors down the road. “It’s starting to get dark and we still need to pick up the doggos. The pharmacy is over there. Come on,” he said.

Frisk trotted after him. “Does being a prince come with perks?”

“Nope!” chara chuckled. “It comes with a heaping helping of responsibility. I live here to avoid it. Chrissy loves it though.” He held the pharmacy door for her. “Go get yourself a brush, toothbrush, toothpaste, soap, deodorant, shampoo and conditioner. Both for dry hair.”

Frisk put her fists to her hips. “Are you saying I stink?”

“Yes.” He turned her around by the shoulders and gently pushed her in the direction of the toiletries.

Frisk stuck her tongue out at him before grabbing a basket and trotting over to the toiletry aisles. She stared at the shelves of shampoo with a frown. “There’s so many to choose from...”

A monotone voice smacked Frisk in the head. “Woah. Catty wasn’t kidding.”

It was followed with a sweet one. “Your sister isn’t a liar, Catti. Just a serious gossip.”

Frisk turned to see a plump, cat girl wearing a plain white shirt and nondescript pants with a purple streak in her hair and a phone in her face. Next to her stood a tall, blonde reindeer girl in a prim red and green sweater and gray skirt.

Frisk moved so that the basket was between them and her. “Uh… Hi?”

The reindeer introduced herself with a happy smile and a wave, “Hello! I’m Noelle! This is Catti.”

Frisk stared at the cat. “Your parents named you both Catty?”

“I’m Catti with an ‘i’. She’s Catty with a ‘y’.” Catti looked up from her phone for half a second, expression so neutral as to be blank. “My parents aren’t very creative.”

“I’m Frisk.”

Noelle reached out to shake. “Nice to meet you!”

Frisk took the hand tentatively. “Same.”

Catti didn’t offer a hand, but kept staring at her phone.

“Don’t mind Catti. She rarely looks up from the screen. Picking out shampoo?”

“Yeah. Catty said I need some for dry hair.”

Noelle hooked her arm in Frisk’s and pulled her over a few steps. “This section.” She pulled a bottle from the shelf holding it out for Frisk to sniff. “This one’s really good. It smells like rosemary and mint.” 

Frisk took the bottle, looking it over before popping the top and sniffing the contents. “It does smell nice. A little bit like the forest and herbs.” She frowned a little.

Noelle grabbed another bottle. “This one is berry. My mom likes it, but I think it smells like a chemical factory.”

Frisk gave it a sniff and scrunched up her nose. “No way.”

“This one is vanilla milk and ginger. Very warm.”

Frisk sniffed once and then took a nice, long inhale. “Mmmm… Smells like cookies baking in an oven.” She held up the rosemary and mint. “I’ll take this one. Thank you.” 

Noelle gave her a bright smile. “You’re welcome!”

“Conditioner,” Catti intoned. 

Noelle gasped, “Oh yeah!” She reached up to grab the conditioner. “You need soap, right?”

Frisk nodded. “And a brush, and a toothbrush, and toothpaste, and deodorant.”

Noelle pulled her along. “This brand makes soap and deodorant. You can mix and match the scents pretty easily.”

Noelle led Frisk around the store, helping her pick out what she needed. Catti followed silently, face in her phone screen. Chara found them in the tooth care aisle, going over different toothpastes.

“Hello, Noelle. Catti.”

Both turned on the spot and Catti actually looked up from her phone. “Hello, Mr. Dreemurr!”

“Helping Frisk?”

Noelle nodded vigorously. “Do you think she’ll have any classes at school?”

Chara shrugged. “We’ll see after the assessment. You’ll still see each other at scouts.” 

“Awesome!” Noelle hugged Frisk suddenly. “Hey! Maybe we’ll have some classes together. It’ll be nice to have someone new around!”

Frisk looked to Catti, who just shrugged. “Advanced.”

“What?” Frisk asked.

“Catti is in the advanced classes,” Noelle answered. “Basically, she’s saying you won’t see her at all unless you place in one of them.” 

Chara placed a hand on Frisk’s shoulder. “Did you find what you need?”

Frisk nodded. 

“Make your goodbyes, girls. Frisk and I need to pick up the doggos.”

Catti shrugged. “See you.”

Noelle waved. “It was nice meeting you!”

Frisk gave her a smile. “Same!” Frisk followed Chara to the register. “Scouts? Did she mean Terra Scouts?”

Chara took the basket from her, emptying it on the counter. “Yes.”

“I get to join Terra Scouts?!”

Chara leaned against the counter. “I didn’t think it’d be that exciting for you.”

“I loved being in scouts!” Her face fell. “Mom and Dad pulled me after they divorced. Said it was ‘too dangerous.’ I think they just didn’t want to figure out how to get me to meetings.”

“Well, you’re back in.” Chara handed her the basket. “Go put that back.”

Frisk dropped the basket back onto the stack. “Don’t I have to have the approval of the local scout master to join?”

Chara smirked as he paid. “I would be the local scout master. You’re approved.” He handed Frisk the bag. “Careful. Your medicine is in there. You’ll be taking it for two weeks.”

Frisk held the bag carefully. “Doggos now?”

“Doggos now.”

They walked down the main drag, now glowing under street lights and the filtered gold of windows. The temperature dropped, turning their breath to white clouds as they walked. Frisk stepped close to Chara, and he put his arm around her shoulders when she shivered against the cold. 

The vet’s office felt overly warm against the encroaching cold of autumn. The reception area was a small room painted an awful peach color with a white counter that did nothing for the overall look. A brown dragon in animal print scrubs sat behind the counter staring at his phone with his mouth hanging open. He glanced up when the door shut, eyes going wide when he saw Chara. He nearly flew over the counter only to land with his belly stuck on the counter top. Undeterred, he grabbed Chara’s shoulders. 

“Is it true?!”

He looked down and saw Frisk. 

“It is!!!” He pushed himself backwards from the desk only to vault it entirely. He came down in a crouch in front of Frisk only to pick her up under the arms and lift her high. “And you’re so cute!”

“Help!” Frisk gasped. 

Chara managed not to laugh. “Please put her down, Brad.”

“Oh!” Brad set Frisk back on her feet before ruffling her hair. 

“I’m picking up Niko and Toby,” Chara said.

Brad stood up straight and smoothed out his scrubs. “Of course. They were very good today and went through their check ups with flying colors. I gave them both vaccine boosters. The groomer gave them both flea and tick treatments with their grooming.”

“Thank you. What wasn’t covered by the pet insurance? Besides the grooming.”

Brad sauntered around the counter, tail swinging, and poked at a computer. “It’s just the grooming today.”

After paying, he motioned for them to follow. “This way please.”

They left the hideous reception area for a clean and super white room where animals were examined. Cabinets lined one wall and a table was pushed up against the other side. Various pieces of equipment were very neatly arranged around the room including several incubators filled with small animals: rabbits, lizards, birds, hamsters. In the back of the room were two doors. On the left was the room for cats and on the right was the room for dogs. A round of barking went up as the door to the dog kennels opened.

Brad unlocked one of the kennel doors and a white eskimo dog followed by a golden labrador rushed out. Both jumped up on Chara, who petted both vigorously.

“Hey boys! Were you good today? I bet you two were the best! Sit!”

Both dogs sat at his feet, tails engaged in insane wagging.

He took the bag from Frisk and pulled her to stand in front of him. “This is Frisk. She’s your new sister.” He took Frisk’s hand and held it so the dogs could sniff the back of her fingers. “I’ll be expecting you both to be good brothers and keep her safe.”

Both dogs barked and jumped up on Frisk sniffing and licking at her face. She giggled, trying to pet them both at the same time. Chara chuckled, attaching leashes to the dogs’ collars. The dogs sat in the back of the jeep on the ride back up the ridge to the A-frames, Frisk petting their heads the whole way.

Once back in the house, Chara dug through the bag of children’s clothing.

“Why do you have a random bag of clothing?” Frisk asked.

“Scouts tend to leave things behind during outings and neglect to claim them. I also have nieces and nephews with the same problem.” Chara lifted a shirt and pants that would make suitable pajamas. “This will do for tonight.”

Frisk caught the clothing as he tossed them to her, then followed him up the stairs to the second floor of the A-frame. Passing by the first door on the left, Chara opened the second, revealing a room with the three largest chests of drawers Frisk had ever seen. They took up one entire wall. 

“We’ll make this your room.”

Frisk frowned. “Uh… there isn’t a bed in here.”

Chara smiled and walked over the chest of drawers closest to the window that looked out the back of the cabin and onto a deck arranged around a fire pit. Grabbing two of the drawer handles at about waist high, he lifted up. The false drawers rolled up and away, revealing a bed.

“Cool!”

“The other two sets are just like this one. You can have your pick of the three.” Chara tapped the drawers under the bed. “These are actual drawers.” He walked around the side of the beds to the wall, opening a door. “This is a walk-in closet. It is on the angle of the house, so watch that you don’t bump your head.” 

Frisk crawled up into the bed space and laid down on the soft mattress. She frowned and sat up. “Can I sleep with you tonight?”

Chara raised an eyebrow. “While that sort of thing is not unusual in Kaparia, I know that it is very uncommon in Andorini.”

Frisk looked away. “I’m sorry.”

Chara sighed. “Yes. You can stay with me tonight. It’s probably for the best. If the medicine makes you sick, it’s easier for me to help you if you’re nearby. Especially after pizza. You know what? We’ll wait on that first dose until tomorrow morning.”

Frisk jumped down from the bed and hugged Chara. “Thank you.”

He gently rubbed her head. “Get ready for bed.”

That night, a warm glow emanating from the living room woke Frisk. She crawled out of bed and walked slowly to the railing at the edge of the bedroom and looked into the living room below. A fire crackled in the stone hearth of carved flowers, illuminating a young woman sitting on the couch. Even in the night covered room, the light of the fire made the woman’s golden hair glow. Toby sat at her feet. She smiled up at Frisk, green eyes sparkling.

Frisk looked back at the bed. Chara slept peacefully with one arm across his stomach and the other behind his head. Niko lay stretched against his legs. Frisk blinked and looked back down in the living room, watching Toby climb up on the woman’s lap. The woman continued to look up at Frisk, waiting.

Stepping away from the railing, Frisk tiptoed down the stairs, happy that they didn’t creak under her bare feet. The woman patted the cushion next to her on the couch and Frisk sat down, shivering a little, despite the warmth of the fire. The woman put an arm around Frisk, pulling her close.

“Do you like your new home?” the woman asked.

Frisk looked around a room filled with post modern furniture in warm colors. “It’s so different from anything I knew growing up.”

“You’re still growing up. Don’t try to get there too fast.”

Frisk stared hard at the woman. “Who are you?”

The woman reached out, gently petting Frisk’s hair. She pulled Frisk close, kissing the child’s head. 

“Only a shadow,” she whispered.

Frisk gasped and sat up, looking around the bedroom. Chara slept peacefully with one arm across his stomach and the other behind his head. Niko lay stretched against his legs. Toby’s head rose, bright blue eyes watching Frisk. The house was dark but for the light of the moon shining in from the big picture windows on the front of the A-frame. Frisk laid back down, eyes closing.

“That’s not the moon,” Frisk whispered, shivering.

Frisk crawled out of the bed and over to the rail to look out the front windows, Toby coming up next to her. Standing in the middle of the field was a glowing white figure. Tall and majestic, an impressive rack of elk antlers swept forward from a slim and elegant head. What little Frisk could make out of the face was beautiful and not the least bit human in the deer like snout. Robes of gray and green wrapped the creature and pooled on the leaf strewn field. Slender arms clasped the robes at the chest. Brilliant strands of silver hung from the antlers and shined brightly, even against the white glow. 

It was looking at the cabin.

No.

It was looking at her. 

The house began to glow with the same light. 

Shaking, Frisk turned slowly, afraid to look away, and afraid for Chara. Instead, her eyes came to rest on Toby, who didn’t look the least bit worried. She frowned at the dog’s lack of… concern? 

She looked back at the bed and found the glow illuminating the room. The royal crest that hung on the wall over the bed glowed a bright white, only to turn a deep violet and die, the room going dark. Frisk turned back to the field and found the creature gone, only moonlight lit the leaf strewn field.

Toby padded back over to the bed, and lay down, blue eyes on her; waiting. Frisk crawled in bed and cuddled up against Chara, shivering. Chara’s arm moved from his stomach to wrap around Frisk’s shoulders, holding her close. Frisk’s head rested on his shoulder and she fell asleep, exhausted. Chara’s eyes opened, glowing a deep, blood red as he looked out over the field.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Frisk stared at the school building, a single story rectangle of red brick and white edged windows facing the street. A few of the students, all monsters, sat outside on the steps, all giving her interested looks but otherwise engaged in their own conversations.

“Not what you expected?” Chara asked.

“No.” Frisk frowned, her face scrunching up. “It’s so small.”

Chara put an arm around her shoulders. “Were you worried that coming here might trigger something?”

Frisk nodded. 

“Feel better now that you see it?” he asked.

“I don’t know. Uh… I guess, I’m disappointed. The main classroom building in Marble Hills was WAY bigger than this.”

He took Frisk’s hand. “Come on. You’ll only be here for assessments today.”

Inside, the school was one long hallway painted a bright green with ugly, overly colorful, modular carpeting; the kind made to keep you awake at night, rethinking your life choices. The administration office was on the right, the counselor’s office on the left, and four classrooms, two on each side of the hall. Toriel met them inside the door and opened a classroom lined with tables making a square. Frisk chose a seat as Toriel placed a stack of papers stapled into subject groups on the table. 

“I know this seems like a lot, but no one expects you to do even half of it. It’s just an assessment and tells us where you are academically. Each subject is sectioned out and you can do them in any order you like or even skip back and forth. Do as much as you can and only that. I suggest starting with math since it actually goes the quickest. You either know how to solve the problems or you don’t.”

Frisk nodded.

“I’ll check on you every fifteen minutes or so. When you finish a section, just leave it on the table next to you and I’ll grab it on a check and bring you some lunch around noon. If you need to go to the bathroom, there’s one behind that door.” She motioned to a door in the back of the room.

Frisk started on the pile. Toriel closed the door and stepped into the hall where Chara leaned against one wall. 

“She’s started. It’ll be an hour or two until she’s done,” Toriel said.

“I’ll go pick up some lunch for her. Mind if I use your office to make a call?” Chara asked, jerking a thumb at the office door.

Toriel shook her head. “Not at all.” She whispered, “Do you have her birth certificate?”

Chara unzipped his jacket and pulled out a small envelope, handing it to his mother. 

She opened the envelope to look inside and smiled over it. “Frisk Isabella Dreemurr. You kept her name.”

“Frisk wouldn’t let me name our daughter after her and Isabella was the name we both liked,” Chara said. He snorted softly. “Guess I get a daughter named after my wife after all. There’s a copy of her medical record in there as well.” 

“I need to make a photocopy of both,” Toriel said. “I’ll be back in a minute or two.” She disappeared into the admin’s office.

Chara stepped into his mother’s office. It was small, enough room for a desk pushed up against one wall and three chairs to face each other. Chara pulled out his phone, and instead of scrolling through the numbers programmed into the phone, punched one in. After two rings, there was a pick up, but silence on the other end. 

“Line One. Code: A986-42. SOPV.” 

There was a click and the line transferred. 

Gabriel Havel, the Captain of the Royal Guard, picked up on the first ring, “Hey, Chara!”

Chara smiled into the phone. “Hey, Gabe.”

“Long time, no talk. What’s up?”

Chara sighed. “Unfortunately, I’m calling to make your life harder.”

“Really?” Gabriel asked. He chuckled, “You have never, in your entire life, done anything to make my life harder.”

Chara rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah, I did a pretty good job of making Undyne’s life harder when she had your job. You only got me after I finished being a complete jerk for her.” 

“Yeah. Total jerk. She only shipped out to Nightrest following you, you know.”

Chara shrugged. “Misery loves company.”

“My sources tell me that you adopted a little girl. That doesn’t exactly make my life harder,” Gabriel said. “Her being Anodrini royalty on both sides of her family is complicating, but being officially listed as dead makes that easier.”

Gabriel was silent for a moment before taking a deep breath. “I know this is going to sound absolutely horrible, and forgive me for saying it, but please,” he took another breath, “Please, please, please tell me we’re making it look like she’s Isabella.”

Chara grimaced. “Yeah. We’re making it look like she’s Isabella.” He sighed, “The birth certificate lists her as Frisk Isabella Dreemurr.”

Gabriel all but whispered into the phone, “After Frisk?”

“Her name is Frisk,” Chara said. “I’ll come by the office this afternoon. I’m pretty sure Sans and Undyne have already dropped what they’ve found on you.”

“That they have. Did they mention that long name of hers was an ascendence name?”

“No.” Chara frowned. “Can you give me details?”

“Astelle is looking into it, but this is Chrissy’s forte. As soon as we can, we need to grab her.”

“Why?” Chara asked.

“Because Astelle and I are suspicious of Frisk’s original birth certificate. There are details that aren’t adding up. Any idea of when to expect you?”

Chara looked up at the clock on the wall. “She should be done with her educational assessment after lunch and it’s just under an hour drive to the Capital so… 1430 to 1500 depending on traffic.”

“I’ll get everything cleared for it.”

“Honestly, I’m surprised my mother hasn’t called ahead of me,” Chara said, frowning.

“You know how Her Majesty is,” Gabriel chuckled. “She’s probably too excited about the change to even think about security issues.” 

“Tell me about it,” Chara sighed. “See you soon.”

“I look forward to it.”

Chara hung up and his phone immediately buzzed in his hand. He looked at the photo of his twin sister smiling big and overly bright, and considered, for a moment, ignoring it.

“Nah. She’d kill me.” He answered, “Hello, C.”

“So, what’s the news?”

Chara smirked, playing coy. “News?”

Christina sputtered, “Oh don’t you dare do that to me! I’ve been at Naica’s all morning looking at dresses for girls and thinking that ‘she’ would look adorable in them. So, who is ‘she’?”

Chara chuckled. “Honestly, I’m kind of surprised mom hasn’t called you to gush about it. I adopted a little girl.”

“You?” she gasped. “You adopted a child? I mean, it’s not out of the realm of possibility, but, Holy Crow!” She went silent for a moment before whispering, “Why?”

Chara leaned back against the desk, chest suddenly feeling heavy. “Because Frisk would have, without a moment’s hesitation.”

“Oh my God! Astelle is going to lose her shit!”

Chara tried to imagine his older sister doing anything of the sort. “I highly doubt--”

“When do I get to meet her?”

Chara rubbed the back of his neck. “I’ll be in to see Gabe this afternoon--”

“1430, right? I’ll see you then.” She paused for a moment. “And Gabe needs to see me about something too, right? Right. I’ll talk to him after I see my niece.” She hung up.

Chara sighed and looked at the clock. “I need to get Frisk some lunch.”

An hour later found Chara and Toriel eating together in her office.

“Do you think we can find someone in Nightrest who can handle post traumatic stress and be discreet about it? Or will I need to drive her into the Capitol every two weeks for therapy?” Chara asked.

“I can think of a few people. I’ll short list some names and send them to Captain Havel for clearance,” Toriel answered. She looked over the parts of the assessment Frisk had already finished. “She did math first and she scored average for her age. She did social studies next and did very poorly, which makes sense since it involves lots of questions about a country she didn’t grow up in. She quit a few pages in.”

Chara pulled the social studies assessment from the pile, looking over the answers. “I’ll be doing her math and social studies at home.”

“I’ll sign out the necessary textbooks to get her caught up. Are you doing Art and Physical Education at home as well?”

Chara nodded.

“And Music?” she asked.

Chara frowned. “No.”

“But you are very good on the piano--”

“I am a passable piano player, and I won’t saddle Frisk with the single instrument I can play. She can come to the school and have Mr. Fitz who can literally teach her any instrument under the sun. Besides, she’s old enough now that she can opt out of an instrument in favor of singing, or opt for humanities. She’s more than old enough to decide that.”

Toriel sighed. “Very well. I’ll grab art and health textbooks.”

There was a knock at the office door. 

“Come in,” Toriel called.

Frisk poked her head in. “I finished.” She held out the last of the papers and Toriel took them.

“Finished with lunch?” Chara asked.

Frisk shook her head. 

“Go get it and come in here with us.”

Frisk smiled and disappeared as the door shut behind her.

Toriel looked through the papers. “It’ll take me a bit to score the science assessment. Health and Art look to be at age… She trailed off for a moment and then shoved the Language Arts assessment in Chara’s face. “Read this!”

Chara took the papers, flipping through them, only to stop half way through and look over the test slowly. “This is a very well read child.”

“She’s answering questions about college reading level books! This is less than appropriate reading for a child her age!” Toriel growled.

Frisk froze in the middle of opening the door. “Did I do something wrong?”

Toriel gasped, “Oh no! You didn’t do anything wrong.” Her eyes narrowed. “I do have some words about whoever let you read some of these books.”

Chara handed the papers back to his mother. “Talk to Mrs. Rose about it. See what she recommends.”

Toriel sighed. “I’ll have too.”

Chara patted the chair next to him. “Have a seat, kiddo. After we finish lunch, we’ve got a trip to go on.”

Frisk sat next to him. “Where are we going?” She took a bite of her sandwich.

“The Capital.”

Frisk looked up at him, eyes wide, sandwich in her mouth. 

Chara ruffled her hair. “It’s okay. I need to talk to the Captain of the Royal Guard about you and you need clothing. There’s not much for getting someone dressed around here.”

Frisk put her sandwich down and stared at the food in her lap. “You aren’t going to be in trouble, are you?”

Chara gave her a soft smile. “No.”

Frisk took another bite of her sandwich and chewed thoughtfully before swallowing and turning to Toriel. “So do I call you ‘Your Majesty?’ or ‘Ma’am?’”

Toriel chuckled, covering her mouth with one hand daintly. “You call me ‘Grandma.’”

Frisk’s eyes went wide. “Really?” She looked to Chara. 

“What are you looking at me for? If she says to call her ‘Grandma’, I don’t get to override that.” 

Frisk smiled, swinging her legs under her chair, and finished her sandwich. 

After making their goodbyes, Frisk climbed up in the jeep, buckling up. “So how did I do?”

Chara drove from the town and pulled onto a highway through deep woods. “Normal for your age on math, art, music, and health. Behind in social studies, which is okay, by the way. You wouldn’t know half the answers to the questions. Still waiting on science and language arts since you finished them last.”

“What did Grandma mean about my reading?”

Chara smiled. “You were answering detailed questions about books you should not have read yet based on your age. So let’s talk about that. I doubt that half of what you’ve read was required for school.”

“I like to read,” Frisk said.

“One Hundred Years of Solitude? Madame Bovary? Lolita? Those are not books for a child your age. How did you get the books you were reading?”

Frisk turned and looked out the window, watching the red and gold trees go by. “When everyone went home on the weekends and for breaks, it was just me and the residential staff. So I read to pass the time. Whatever happened to be in the library, I read. I like reading.”

She turned in her seat, poking at the fabric upholstery. “Am I in trouble?”

“No. I’m just worried that you may have formed ideas about the world around you and how adult relationships work without the maturity to understand a good idea from a bad one,” Chara answered.

“How were you adopted?” Frisk asked, relaxing into her chair.

Chara frowned. “When Chrissy and I were toddlers, our parents dropped us off at a playground and then left.”

Frisk jumped in her seat. “What?! That’s horrible!”

“Asriel and Astelle were at the park that day. Lady Estree, our nanny, said that we played at first, but as soon as we noticed that our parents weren’t there, we started crying. Asriel and Astelle both tried to calm us down and stayed with us, waiting. When it was obvious that no one was coming for Chris and I, Lady Estree picked us up and took us back to the palace with Asriel and Astelle.”

“So its only luck that you ended up with the royal family,” she mused.

“I don’t know that I would call it luck,” Chara said. “Our parents abandoned us in a place where, if anyone had been less than vigilant, we would have died.”

Frisk thought about that for a moment. “Have you ever wondered who your parents were?”

“No. Not once.”

“Really?” she asked.

“I don’t really feel the need to know about people who didn’t think I was worth even the most basic amount of their attention. Any decent person would have left us at a hospital.”

Frisk stared at her feet for a moment. “Does anyone know who they are?”

Chara nodded. “There’s a file in the Royal Guard’s office.”

“And you’ve never looked.”

Chara glanced at her for a moment before putting his eyes firmly back on the road. “No.”

Frisk dropped the subject and moved on, “So you had a nanny?”

“When your parents are busy running a country, they can’t keep their eyes on you. It was Lady Estree’s job to make sure we were minded. We drove her nuts.”

Frisk giggled. “Will I have a nanny?”

“I do not have a job that requires me to have someone else mind you. And you’re a bit old for a babysitter. If I needed to be sure you stayed out of trouble, I’d call Noelle to come and hang out with you.”

Frisk tried to imagine the cute teen being tough and couldn’t. “Is she that much older than me?”

“Not by monster standards, and it’s more that she’d keep you out of trouble by being a good influence.”

The small highway in the woods opened into a four lane highway split down the middle with large, grassy malls and the occasional grove of pine trees.

“Can fae and humans have babies?”

Chara’s eyebrows went up. “Interesting change of topic.” He glanced at her again. “Have you had the ‘where babies come from talk?’”

Frisk nodded. “I had that in health class years ago.”

“I don’t know enough about fae to be sure. There are lots of legends of them having children with humans, especially in Andorini. The royal family of Andorini is supposed to have a direct line of fae lineage, but…” He shrugged. “Not something I’ve ever looked into.”

His mouth straightened into a thin line. “The fae are powerful creatures. They are as dangerous as they are beautiful. Don’t go seeking them out.”

The highway opened into a complicated set of overpasses and Frisk fell silent, staring at the roadway in awe. Chara pulled onto the topmost overpass, giving Frisk a view of the approaching Capitol. 

She pointed ahead at a white building with a blue and gold roof. “Is that the palace?”

Chara nodded.

“It’s so close!”

“Oh no,” he chuckled. “It’s just that big. We’re still a good thirty minutes away and that’s if the traffic in the city isn’t bad.”

Frisk turned to the window, watching as the first buildings of the city rose up around them, and the highway turned into a business route. Flashing billboards and building sized advertisements floated above the pedestrian filled sidewalks. 

“Wow.”

Chara turned off the main road, driving past several businesses and into a residential area filled with quiet homes. Several turns put them in what appeared to be a cul de sac. He pulled into a long driveway next to a house only for the driveway to go on and on and end in a gate set in an extremely high wall. Driving up to the gate, Chara tapped a security card against a small box hidden in a bush. The box opened to reveal a biometric security system. Chara placed his hand against the screen.

“Christopher Nathan Dreemurr.”

The voice of a woman, obviously not recorded, floated from a hidden speaker as the gate opened, “Good Afternoon, Your Highness. Would your companion be your daughter Frisk?”

“Yes,” he answered.

“I will inform Gabriel of your arrival. Welcome home, Your Highness.”

The gate opened and Chara drove through a very thick wall. The road beyond the gate was lined with trees going autumn orange and yellow. At the end of the road sat a single story parking garage. Chara parked in the first open space between a standard gray sedan and a white minivan.

Frisk stared hard at the minivan. “Who drives the minivan?”

“Your Aunt Chrissy.” Chara gave her a devious smile. “You have quite a few cousins.”

Frisk eyed him suspiciously, following him out of the garage and onto the palace grounds. From here, the palace looked daunting, a mass of gleaming white stone with shining blue trim. Walking around the front, the gardens opened up on a large fountain in the middle of a pool. Two grand staircases led up from the pool and split down the middle, showcasing several arches that ended in the stone plaza in front of the palace’s main doors. 

Monster children ran around the pool’s edge, collecting brightly colored, fallen leaves from the many ornamental trees. 

“What are they doing?” Frisk asked.

“Two things actually,” Chara answered. “They are collecting the leaves for a garland that will cover the steps for the autumn ball. And they are cleaning up the leaves so it’s less work for the grounds crew. Especially around the fountain. Leaves like to get stuck in the water intake valves.”

Frisk pointed at the children. “Who are they? Do you know?”

Chara shielded his eyes for a moment, squinting a little for a better look. “I see a nephew or two. The rest are children of the staff.”

Chara directed Frisk to follow him, but instead of going up the stairs, they went under the arches between them. In the cool dark beyond stood two, heavy doors of stained glass. Chara held one open for Frisk and she stepped inside a humongous ballroom of white walls, royal blue doors, and gold accenting on every pillar that made a box of the middle of the room. She stopped on the entry rug to wipe her feet before stepping onto the plush blue carpet that lined the area around the tiled floor in the middle.

Behind the pillars in each of the four corners were little living rooms where monsters sat, enjoying tea and coffee. 

“Eeee! There she is!” A female version of Chara in a layered dress of pink, white, and light brown rushed over, hugging Frisk. “You’re so cute!”

Chara sighed, gesturing toward his sister. “Frisk, this is your Aunt Christina. C, this is Frisk. Don’t smother her.”

Several monsters and a few humans among them turned in their seats at the commotion and Frisk blushed brightly at the sudden attention.

Christina stood up straight, taking Frisk’s hand in hers. “It’s 1430 on the dot. We’ll be back in… two hours? Better make it three to be safe.”

Frisk blinked. “What?”

“To go shopping!” Christina looked to Chara. “What does she need?”

Chara huffed, hands on his hips. “Everything. Underwear, socks, shoes, pants, skirts, shirts, dresses: the works. Including something nice for church.”

“Got it.” She held out a hand. “I know you have it. Hand it over.”

Chara pulled a card out of his wallet. “Don’t spend me out of house and home.”

Christina crossed her arms over her chest. “Don’t you dare act like I’d do such a thing! The most money I’d ever spent in one go was on the van and I even bought it used.” She stuck her tongue out at Chara.

“That’s only because Dad paid for your wedding,” Chara reminded her.

A dark haired girl in a pair of peanut brown jeans, knee high leather boots, and a green sweater went up on her toes to kiss Chara’s cheek before she took Frisk’s arm. “I’m Rose. And we need to move along before my mother and Uncle Chara start doing their twin sibling thing.” She pulled Frisk back toward the door.

Frisk resisted, looking up at Chara. 

He gave her a smile. “It’s okay.”

Frisk nodded and let Rose pull her back to the doors.

Chara grabbed his sister’s hand, pulling her in to whisper, “The doctor mentioned that Frisk has only just hit menarche. Will you give her that talk while you’re out and get her what she’ll need?”

“I’ve got you, Broseph.” She gave him a hug. “Are you staying for dinner?”

“I’ll play that based on how overwhelmed Frisk is. My jeep is parked next to your van and I left it unlocked. Drop whatever you buy in the back.”

Christina pulled out a notepad and started jotting down notes. “Anything else she needs?”

“Bedding. Let her pick out whatever she likes for a twin bed.”

“Even if it’s an eyesore?”

Chara snorted. “She’s the one who has to live with it. I can always shut the door. Let her pick out a stuffed animal or three.”

“Toys? Hobbies?”

Chara shook his head. “I’m pretty sure she’s going to be overwhelmed with the clothes and likely to be uncomfortable with the amount being spent on her. I’ll take her for other things once I know what she needs in school supplies.”

Christina gave him a devious smile. “And her scout uniform?”

Chara’s eyes narrowed. “Not unless you want to die by sororicide. The scout uniform is something I get to put her in.”

Christina leaned in and kissed her brother’s cheek. “Don’t keep Gabe waiting.” She turned and rushed after the girls.

Chara sighed and gave Frisk a wave. Frisk waved back before disappearing out the door. Spotting several monsters heading his way, he made a quick exit through a blue door on the left and headed down the hall for the royal guard’s offices, slipping inside before anyone could accost him. 

A well appointed desk of darkly stained wood took center stage in the room; behind it, the crest of the Knights of Kaparia hung brilliantly on the wall. In the middle of the desk lay a huge, leather bound book, open to a page with the day’s date on it. No one sat behind the desk. 

Chara looked at the signatures of guardsmen listed on the paper and lifted a pen to sign in for the day. Only to stop and put the pen down. 

“Old habits die hard, huh? Even after sixteen years, you’re still looking to sign in,” Gabe said.

Gabriel Havel, a tall and very slender man in a dark suit with light brown hair and green eyes, didn’t look the part. No one would ever accuse him of being a royal guardsman in the land of monsters let alone the Captain of the Guard. Which was the point. He leaned against the door frame into his office.

Chara sighed. “Yeah.”

“Come on in.”

Chara followed Gabriel into the office, the door shutting behind them.

After a quick hug, Chara took a seat opposite the desk and pulled out a set of papers hidden in his jacket. “Her name is Arabella Aramita Asterenath Frisk Pierce. Her new birth certificate lists her as Frisk Isabella Dreemurr.”

Gabriel took the papers.

“And she only introduced herself as Frisk. I suspect she doesn’t know she has a long name.”

Gabriel glanced up. “Why?”

“When it came up in Sans’ office, she didn’t know she was royalty. Her parents are divorced and each started new families that didn’t involve her. She was kept at a distance.”

“Has she shown signs of attachment disorder?”

Chara shook his head. “Not so far, but it’s only been a day. I’m seeing clear signs of post traumatic stress disorder. Mom will drop a list of potential therapists on you for background checks in the near future.”

Gabriel pointed to one of the papers. “Sans notes that she is listed as dead four days ago?”

Chara nodded, mouth set at a thin line.

Gabriel shook his head. “There’s no way she made that trip on foot.”

“I was being sarcastic to Sans about one of the things in the forest carrying her, but now I think I was actually on to something. One of the fae came onto my land and I’m pretty sure it was looking for Frisk.”

“What did you do?”

“I told it very politely to get off my lawn.”

The door opened and a tall goat woman with long, yellow hair, pale blue eyes, and an overly serious expression entered the office without knocking. She bent over at the waist, her purple royal robes falling forward as she hugged Chara.

“Greetings, Baby Brother.”

Chara reached up, hugging her backwards. “Greetings, Elle.”

Astelle Dreemurr stood up, rearranging her clothing. “Where is my niece?”

“Chrissy kidnapped her.”

Astelle snorted and held out her hand for the report. Gabriel handed her the papers. 

“She is related to the royal family on both sides,” Astelle stated.

“I think that birth certificate is bogus,” Gabe said.

“You don’t think she’s related to the royal line?” Chara asked.

“I think she is, just not through the people listed on the birth certificate.” Gabriel leaned back.

Astelle took the chair next to her brother. “Neither of the listed parents have long, royal names despite having the Pierce surname. ‘Pierce’ comes from the epithet of the first ruler of Andorini. Tauronen the Piercer. So called because he could ‘pierce’ the veil between the fae and human worlds. The legend says that he was half fae. Combine that with a girl named Pierce showing up on your doorstep only to get a visit from a fae later? This whole thing stinks of conspiracy.”

Chara leaned back. “You mean stinks like our mother suddenly ‘retiring and moving out to Nightrest when I left with my wife’ conspiracy?”

Astelle dropped the file on Gabe’s desk before leaning back in her chair. “You aren’t supposed to be suspicious about that.”

Chara’s jaw dropped. “Not suspicious? Since when do queens ‘retire?’” He huffed and crossed his arms over his chest. “Do you really think I haven’t run into the fae that roam the outskirts of Nightrest? I take the scouts camping and the fae are always close. I find things I shouldn’t every time I take a hike up the ridge to see my wife. This is just the first time they’ve come onto my property.” 

Chara sighed. “I know mom moved out to Nightrest to be a more present ambassador to the fae. I just want to know how my daughter is connected to it.”

“I don’t know. Mom and Dad are so tight-lipped about their treaty with the fae that even Asriel is in the dark,” Astelle said. “It’s something we need Chrissy to tell us.” 

She changed subjects, “As of this morning, the royal family has control of Andorini. Edmund Acernath is the man currently running the show. Based on this information, he is not eligible to sit on the throne.”

“How close is Frisk?” Gabe asked.

Astelle let out a long breath. “The Pierce line is the direct line of royalty. Based on our knowledge of who’s alive and who’s dead, Frisk should be sitting on it right now.”

Chara chilled. “That’s not good.”

“But let’s say that Gabe and I are right and something is really off here. That Frisk’s birth certificate is a fake. She may still be the person who should be on that throne, we just don’t know the specifics of how.”

“Either way, it’s not good.” Gabriel rubbed his forehead as if to rub away the coming headache. “Our intelligence lists Acernath as ambitious in all the wrong ways. Just the kind of man who would kill a child to secure a country for himself.” 

Chara raised an eyebrow. “Then that makes him the kind of man willing to stage a fake revolution to put him there.”

Astelle frowned. “Dad and Asriel are discussing exactly that right now with Counsel.” She looked down at the papers. “This is a very long name. Arabella Aramita Asterenath Frisk Pierce. It’s an ascendence name. Each of these names have significant meaning and it concerns me that the name of her mother as listed on the birth certificate does not appear in the ascendance name.”

“Interpreting this kind of information is Christina’s field,” Gabriel said. “I’ll get her to parse it for us when she gets back.”


	4. Chapter 4

Rose held a pink blouse to Frisk’s chest. “No.” And a blue one. “No.” And a red one. “No.” She hung all three back on the rack.

Frisk stared at the growing mountain of clothing she’d been put in, pulled out of, repeatedly measured for, and pinned into. Maggie, a golden haired wisp of a woman, and an employee in the store, carefully folded and gently placed in bags what didn’t need to be altered while two raccoon monster seamstresses delicately sewed away at the clothing that wasn’t exactly right to start.

“Do I really need all of this? The school uniform is more than enough.”

Rose pulled another blouse off the rack, holding it up to Frisk. “Nightrest’s school is tiny. They don’t have uniforms. And even if they did, you’d still need clothing for non-school days, and special occasions.” She hung the blouse back up.

“No uniform?” Frisk blinked. “What am I supposed to wear to school?”

Rose looked over a rack of dresses. “You do realize that the majority of your schooling will happen at home with Uncle Chara, right?”

Christina sat her niece down on the nearest chair. “Frisk, were you always at a boarding school?”

Frisk nodded, smiling a little. “Most of the time. When I wasn’t, I was at Aunt Aramita’s house.”

“Did you ever have clothing that wasn’t the school uniform?”

Frisk shrugged. “I really didn’t need anything other than the uniform. The rule was that you represented the school even when you weren’t on premises, so why wear something else?” She changed the subject. “Do you and your brother have that weird twin telepathy?”

Christina frowned. “It’s more that we both have a general sense of what’s going on with the other. Which wasn’t so great when he was in the army,” she mused. “I’d wake up sore every morning.” She picked up the eighth green sweater in a row and held it up to Frisk. “Did you ever have clothing that wasn’t the school uniform?”

Frisk dodged, “Is green your favorite color? You keep picking it up.”

Rose snorted. “Green is Mom and Uncle Chara’s favorite color, so unless you say something, that is literally all my mother will put you in.” She pulled on her own green sweater for emphasis.

Christina wasn’t to be denied. “Did you ever have clothing that wasn’t the school uniform?”

Frisk sighed. “A few things for when I stayed with Aunt Aramita, but I like my uniform. I didn’t have to think about it. I just put it on and went to class.” She frowned and shook her head. “Please stop asking about it. I think Aunt Aramita might be dead too and I don’t want to deal with that right now.” 

She took a deep breath and let it out in a huff. “What do I wear to school if I don’t have a uniform?”

“Whatever the dress code allows.” Christina pulled out her phone and unlocked the screen. “Nightrest school dress code. Undergarments may not show. No low cut shirts. Shorts and skirts may not be higher than two inches above the knee. No pants falling off your backside. No visible midriffs. No shoes with heels higher than two inches. Clothing may not contain curse words, political statements, and/or messages of a sexual nature, including plays on words. No wearing pajamas to class except for pajama days.”

“You get pajama days?” Rose groaned. “No fair.”

“Hey, Maggie?” Christina asked, “Please bring over some warm weather pajamas, cold weather pajamas, and pajamas that work with the dress code.”

Maggie set down the clothing she was in the process of folding. “Do you like silky feel pajamas or straight cotton?”

Frisk thought about it. “I’ve only ever had cotton?”

“I’ll bring both. And a bottle of water. You look like you could use it.”

Christina leaned over toward the woman as she passed. “Thank you, Maggie.”

“I’ve got you, C.”

Rose took stock of the pile. “Of everything, what do you like best so far?”

“My favorites?” Frisk went over to the pile, gently touching the skirts. “I really like the pretty skirts and blouses.” She turned to Christina. “Like how you dress.”

Christina smiled and gestured to the pile. “Then we’re doing pretty well so far. Even so, I still have a couple pairs of jeans and a big hoodie for all my fun badges.”

“Fun badges? You mean for Terra Scouts, right?” She smiled brightly. “Will I get a uniform today?”

“My brother has promised to kill me if I do that. And I get it. It’s his thing. He may not look it, but he’s very excited about putting you in a uniform at the scout shop.”

“What was it like in boarding school?” Rose asked.

“It’s like living with your friends. With all the awesome and horrible that entails.” Frisk sat down, smiling again. “I went to Marble Hills. It was two girls to a room and I bunked with my friend Allie. The rooms were big enough for our beds, dressers, desks, and a big closet. And since we could, we stacked the beds to make them bunk beds. It gave us a ton of room and we were able to practice for dance class.”

Frisk lifted her arms to indicate size. “The common areas for each of the dorms were huge with a kitchen on one side and a big fireplace on the other, with tables and couches in between. We had lots of free time in the evenings. And on weekends, we would use it to hang in the common area roasting marshmallows, playing games, and watching movies.” Frisk swung her legs under the chair. 

Rose cocked her head to the side. “Weren’t the rules strict?”

“The rules were the rules.” Frisk shrugged. “I didn’t think they were strict. The schedule was pretty tight during actual schooling, but that wasn’t bad unless you had two classes on opposite ends of the school.”

“So you liked the school?”

Frisk nodded. “Marble Hills was wonderful and the staff genuinely cared for us.” Her smile fell. “If you look it up and find out that it’s totally gone, don’t tell me. I don’t want to know that.”

Rose nodded and lifted her mother’s phone. “Hey, Mom. How about we find Frisk something like this?” She held up the phone, showing off a photo of a woman with light brown hair and green eyes in a long brown skirt and a dark blue sweater. She smiled at the camera, her arms filled with flowers.

Frisk blinked, leaning in. “It’s her,” she whispered.

Christina frowned. “I’m not sure how Chara would feel about that.”

Rose shrugged. “Either way,” she turned to Frisk, “you are not going back dressed in that. Kudos to my uncle for finding stuff that fit you in the Big Bag of Spare Clothes, but you’re a Dreemurr now and you are dressing like it.”

Frisk looked up at Christina. “Should I be afraid?”

Christina thought about it for a moment. “No.” She pulled out her list. “When we’re done here, you’ll still need bedding and stuffed animals.”

Frisk sat up straight. “Really? I get stuffed animals? Can I have a unicorn? I’ve always wanted a unicorn!”

Maggie came back with an arm load of clothing and a bottle of water. After handing Frisk the water, she dropped the pile and held up a pair of pajamas with unicorns and rainbows all over it. “I guess this one is a keeper then?”

“Yes!” Frisk hugged the pajamas.

Maggie smiled softly. “Please try them on.” When Frisk disappeared, she turned to Christina. “I’ll go get a few more things with unicorns on them.”

“Good idea.”

Rose sat down in Frisk’s chair as Maggie disappeared. “You know, I was kind of expecting that boarding school was awful.”

“It can’t rain all the time, hun.” Christina picked up where Maggie had left off folding clothes. “When something is unfamiliar, it’s easy to imagine it being loathsome. Frisk appears to have many good memories from being at school, and that’s good. They’ll help carry her through the transition.”

Rose looked down at the phone in her hand and started tapping.

“Rose.”

Rose didn’t stop at the warning. “I want to know if Marble Hills is still there.” She paused and handed the phone back to her mother. “No. I don’t want to know either.”

Christina frowned and turned away, completing the search. News reports and photos of blood stained rubble filled the screen. She restarted the search, looking for Aramita Pierce. Missing. Presumed dead. For a moment, the image of a white rabbit with a blue eye and a violet one filled her mind and just as quickly passed away. Christina swiped the search away and slid the phone into her pocket.

Rose jumped out of her seat. “Mom? You have that look on your face. What did you see?”

Christina shook her head as Frisk came out of the dressing room.

Frisk held out the unicorn pajamas. “I love these! They’re so soft!”

Christina smiled and took the clothing. “We’re just about done here. Rose, take Frisk around to the linens side of the store to pick out a bed in a bag.”

Rose frowned but took Frisk’s hand, the two wandering into the store. A member of the royal guard popped up out of nowhere and followed the girls.

One of the raccoon seamstresses stopped her machine. “Your Highness? Is everything all right?”

The phone buzzed in her pocket and she pulled it out, knowing who the text was from without needing to look.

Chara: What was that?

“I don’t know,” she muttered. Taking a deep breath, she gave the seamstress a smile. “How are we doing on the alterations?”

The second seamstress answered, not looking up from her machine. “These will be done in a day or so.”

“I’ll have my husband come by to pick them up when they’re ready,” Christina said.

“We can ship them.”

The image of the rabbit hit her again. “No. I’ll send James to pick them up.”

Maggie came back with a unicorn shirt, sweater, and leggings only to drop them and rush to Christina. She took the princess’ hands in hers. “C? Did you have a vision?”

“Yeah,” Christina sighed. “I don’t know what I’m seeing, but I know it’s not good news.”

Maggie nodded and looked around. “Where are the girls?”

“Picking out bedding. They have a guard with them.” Christina sat down. 

This time her phone rang. She ignored the call and texted instead.

C: We’re okay. I’ll tell you what I saw when we get back.

She sighed and lifted the unicorn sweater, a navy blue affair sporting a white unicorn with a golden mane and horn. “Pull the tags on this one and the brown skirt there. I’ll take her back wearing them.”

“Like that, she’ll resemble...” Maggie trailed off. “You know.”

“I know.” Christina looked at her phone and flipped to a photo of the late Frisk Dreemurr, smiling softly for the camera; a pile of flowers in her arms. “But… When I left with Frisk and Rose, my brother made a kind of joke I haven’t heard him lay out in fifteen years. It’s like there’s the piece of him I thought was dead is back and only now I realize that it was sleeping.”

Maggie sat next to Christina, taking the Princess’ hand. “Guess he was just waiting for someone to wake him up.”

“I guess so. I feel lacking for not being able to wake him up myself. I’m his twin, right? But the past beats inside him like a second heart. It always has.” Christina brought the phone up to her face, and kissed the photo. “I miss you, Frisk.” 

She put the phone away as the girls came back, carrying a bag between them with a navy blue comforter covered with big pink flowers inside. Behind them, the guardsman followed, carrying two matching sets of sheets.

Christina looked over the comforter. “Good pick.” She handed Frisk the sweater and skirt. “Put these on. You’ll be leaving in them.”

Frisk nodded and took the clothes, disappearing into the dressing room and coming out a minute later in the new clothes. She twirled in place, smiling at the skirt swirling around her legs.

Rose rolled her eyes. “You are too adorable.” She squinted at Frisk. “You’re missing something…” Rose sighed dramatically. “Accessories. You still need jewelry, hair stuff, and at least one purse.” She grabbed Frisk’s hand. “Come on.”

“Eek!” Frisk stumbled after her. “I need my shoes! I’m only in socks!”

“And socks and shoes. You need socks and shoes.” 

Rose dragged her away and Christina stood to help Maggie put everything away and begin tallying the purchases. Once the girls had returned and everything was paid for and put away, they headed back through the city to the palace.

Just as Chara had before, Christina took a turn into the residential area, but instead of a cul de sac, she pulled up to a random house, entering the garage. When the door to the garage closed behind the van, a door on the other side opened on a hidden road that followed the wall lining the east side of the palace property, ending in a gate that opened for the van automatically. Driving around to the royal parking garage, she pulled in next to Chara’s jeep and set the girl’s to transferring the bags from the back of the van to the jeep before they headed back into the palace via the stone arches by the fountain.

Chara waited for them in the ballroom. 

Frisk ran up to him and twirled on one foot. “What do you think? Do you like it?”

Chara glanced at his sister while giving Frisk an amused smile. “Do you like it?”

Frisk nodded, smiling brightly. 

“Then I love it.” Chara put an arm around her shoulders. “Come on. Your cousins have been all over me to meet you.” 

He led her over to a group of human and monster children who bounced around one of the sets of couches. On seeing Frisk, they all jumped up, the littlest ones running over fast, while the older ones took their time.

Chara chuckled. “Line up, kiddos! There’s a mob of you, and you’re all overwhelming enough as it is.”

The kids arranged themselves easily, like they did it all the time.

Chara knelt next to two, white goat boys in purple and green striped sweaters, ruffling the white tufts of hair on the tops of their heads. “This is Sariel and Laires. They are my brother Asriel’s sons and the crown princes.”

Both boys rushed Frisk, hugging her tightly around the waist.

While Frisk did her best to remain upright, Chara introduced the next round of goat children, these ones wearing green and red striped clothing. “These are my sister Astelle’s children.”

A goat monster who looked only a little older than Frisk gave her a low bow, his dark hair falling in his face. “I’m Christopher.” 

A female goat just a little younger with long, lustrous black hair curtsied, lifting her skirt daintily. “Christina.” 

“I’m Rosaline!” The eight year old attempted to mimic her sister’s curtsy only to fall over and be caught by her older brother. 

Three more lined up and Chara gestured to them. “And the rogue’s gallery are Christina’s children. You’ve met Rose.”

A pair of identical twin girls with long red hair and large brown eyes in matching red and gray dresses both pouted. “No fair! Rose got to go shopping with you!”

Chara raised an eyebrow at them and they both appeared to quickly suck in any other complaints. “The twins are Ivy and Iris.”

Frisk gave them all her best smile. “It’s nice to meet you all.”

Chara looked around before elbowing his sister. “Where’s your son?”

“That’s a good question.” Christina looked at her children. “Where is James Junior?”

Rose shrugged. “Don’t look at me. I’ve been with you all afternoon.”

“Sorry. Uncle Evan wanted to see me.” A young man in a white button down and black slacks with his mother’s dark hair and a striking pair of green-brown eyes came over and gave Frisk an easy smile. “You’re Frisk, right?” He held out a hand. “I’m James. I’m named after my dad, but it’s not ‘junior,’ no matter what my mother says.”

She shook his hand, blushing a little as she did. “Hello.”

Christina elbowed Chara, nodding to the kids. 

Chara rolled his eyes before leaning in to whisper in his sister’s ear, “I remember your boy crazy phase. It wasn’t the most pleasant time in my life.”

Christina patted him on the shoulder. “Get ready for round two, Broham.”

Chara sighed before he frowned. “What did you see?”

“A white rabbit with a blue eye and a violet one. But it wasn’t a rabbit. Whatever it was, it likes to appear harmless. The rabbit was just a disguise.” Christina shivered. 

Chara put an arm around her. 

“Whatever it is. It’s a predator and it’s on the hunt.” She leaned in, whispering into her brother’s ear. “It wants Frisk.”

Chara’s grip tightened. “Does it want her dead?”

“No. It was more like… like she was a prize.”

Chara’s eyes closed. 

Christina turned into her brother, hugging him tightly. “You know something else?”

“She's next in line for the throne of Andorini. And the man currently claiming the throne is likely to have her assassinated if he finds out she's alive.”

“Does she have a name that indicates her ascendence?” 

“Yeah. And we need to talk about it.” Chara stood up straight, stepping back. “Frisk? Stay with your cousins. I need to talk to my sister.”

Frisk nodded only to have Ivy and Iris slide their arms around her waist from either side. 

“This way!” they both sang, sweeping Frisk behind the near set of pillars to a set of couches and an afternoon tea.

Christina sighed, shaking her head. “Rose and James? You’re in charge. Don’t let me down.”

James held both arms wide and gave his mother a smile. “Have we ever?” He put his hands in his pockets and followed the rest of the Dreemurr children to the couches.

After eyeing the kids for a moment, Chara turned, pulling his sister along with him. 

“Gabe thinks Frisk’s birth certificate is a fake and is pretty sure you can confirm it either way,” he said.

Christina nodded, following Chara to Gabe’s office where Astelle waited with Asriel, the Crown Prince of All Monsters. Chara smiled, crashing into his older goat brother with a tight hug.

“Where have you been?” Chara asked, pushing his face against his brother’s chest.

“Dealing with the Andorini problem.” Asriel smirked. “I’d like to thank you for complicating it considerably.” 

Chara gave his brother a mock glare. “Bite me.”

Asriel pulled his lips back from his sharp teeth, making a chomping motion.

Christina moved the conversation along. “Where’s the birth cert?”

Gabriel handed it to her.

“Oh yeah,” she sputtered, “This is totally fake.” 

“How fake?” Astelle asked.

“Andorini ascendence names work like this: The first name is the name Frisk would have on ascending the throne and it’s always a name of a previous ruler. Case in point, she would be Arabella the Seventh. The second name is the familiar or family name of the mother…”

She trailed off, staring at the paper, her hand coming up to cover her mouth. 

Chara reached over, laying his hand on his sister’s shoulder. “C?” 

“Frisk wasn’t sent to a distant relative when her ‘parents’ divorced,” Christina whispered. “She was sent to live with her mother and she didn’t know it.”

“Details?” Gabe asked.

Christina turned to him. “While we were out, Frisk mentioned being sent to live with her ‘Aunt Aramita.’ If this name is accurate, Aramita is her mother. Not her aunt. I looked her up and she’s listed as missing, presumed dead.”

“Then there’s a chance she’s alive,” Asriel said. “The rest of the name?”

Christina nodded. “The third name is the grandmother, or grandfather in the case of a boy, through whom the line descends. And that’s another weird thing, Asterenath is not anyone in the Andorini line. It’s a fae name.”

Chara’s jaw dropped. “On the way here, Frisk asked me very randomly if fae and humans could have children.”

“That’s… really, overly coincidental,” Asriel said.

“Maybe the Pierce line is closer to the fae than just descending from Tauronen the Piercer,” Astelle mused. “It would make sense if, every couple of generations, they were reinvigorating themselves with fae blood. We need to find out who her biological father is.”

“Agreed,” Asriel said. “So where does ‘Frisk’ come from?”

“That’s the child’s familiar or family name. It’s the one the parents get to choose. Pierce, of course, is the actual royal line.” Christina pursed her lips into a thin line. “What's the plan?”

“Pretend Frisk is Isabella and that she's always been here, living out of the public eye in Nightrest,” Chara said.

“Are you okay with that?” Asriel asked.

Chara’s breath caught on the lump forming in his throat. “No.” He shook it off. “But if that's what I have to do, I'll do it.”

Christina hugged her twin tightly.

"You had a vision," Chara said. "Tell them about it."

"It looked like a rabbit, trying to appear harmless, and it wants Frisk. I don't know why."

"I wonder if this has anything to do with the fae connection?" Gabriel mused.

Christina looked between her twin and Gabe. "Fae connection? Besides the one we just discussed?"

Chara's expression soured. "One came on my property last night. It was looking for Frisk. I told it very politely to leave."

Asriel's jaw dropped. "And it did?"

"What did it look like?" Astelle asked.

"Tall. Taller than Asriel. It had a face like a deer and a massive rack of antlers dripping with silver chains and ornaments. Its robes were heavily embroidered. It was both very beautiful and utterly terrifying."

"We need to find out who that fae was," Astelle said.

Asriel frowned. "I have a feeling Mom already knows. She was on the phone with Dad when I left."

Christina groaned, "Is this another episode of 'Mom and Dad keep secrets the rest of us really should know?'"

Gabriel sighed, "Dig into it the first chance you get, Chara. Her Majesty always capitulates to you the quickest. And start teaching Frisk to defend herself."

Chara nodded. 

Asriel smiled, putting his hand on Chara's shoulder. "Until we know more, we'll keep things simple and quiet. Go home to Nightrest and keep an eye on the fae activity. Gabe, look into finding Aramita Pierce and if she's alive, get her here quickly and quietly. Astelle and C, figure out what the rabbit thing is and what it wants with our niece." He checked his watch. "Dinner is in twenty with Grandpa. I'll see you all there."

The siblings nodded and left, Asriel staying behind with Gabriel. When the door shut, the Crown Prince turned to the Captain of the Royal Guard.

"Pull Chara and Chrissy's file."

Gabriel pulled out a key on a chain from under his button down and unlocked a drawer on his desk. He removed an ornate wooden box, setting it on the desk. Asriel opened the lid, carefully going through the contents. A photo of two small children, a boy and a girl, blue skinned, violet haired, and red eyed, slipped from the box and landed on the desk.

"Do you think this involves the twins?" Gabriel asked.

Asriel nodded. "And I think this is about the treaty my parents made with the fae that has guaranteed Kaparia's lasting peace with our forest neighbors." Asriel lifted the photo, and smiled. “It occurs to me that there’s someone else we can ask about this.”

“Go on.”

“Frisk. Like I said: her question was conveniently coincidental. There’s no way she’s completely in the dark about everything.”


	5. Chapter 5

Frisk lay against the horse’s pale neck, exhausted. Her wrists were twisted up in the reins, helping to keep her in place. In her peripheral, she saw long white hair drifting by her, sparkling in the sunlight that filtered through the trees. She tried to turn her head and see who the hair belonged to, but she couldn’t find the strength to lift it.

“This is as far as I can take you, Little Love.”

The voice sounded as if it belonged to a man. Gentle hands untangled her wrists from the reins, strong arms lifting her from the back of the horse. Her hair fell across her eyes in long, white locks, obscuring her vision. She was laid to rest against a tree. 

“I wish I could take you the entire way, but it would alert the Farrath, and I cannot protect you from it.”

The voice was filled with a deep and awful sorrow. Frisk blinked, wishing she could see past the white of her hair. A hand rested on her head. 

“You will sleep and when you wake you will walk in the direction you need to go. You’ll be guided along the way, though you won’t remember it. And it will be enough time that you’ll lose any trace of my touch upon you. At the end of this journey is Isilvarne. He will protect you and keep you as his own. Be good for him.”

Frisk closed her eyes, concentrating on the voice, but it spoke no more and the hand lifted away. The horse’s head came down, snuffing at her cheek. Her eyes opened a little as she reached up only to touch the massive, flower filled antlers of a glowing, white elk. 

Frisk sat up in bed and looked around. Her bedroom was dark and quiet, the window near her head black as ink. Toby lifted his head and yawned widely before laying down against her legs and going back to sleep. Frisk stared into the darkness, broken only by the night light glowing in the hall, listening for the voice, and hearing nothing. She stood, jostling Toby, who rolled over and remained asleep. Tip-toeing to the door, she looked down the hall toward the stairs. A white glow gently touched the steps. 

The door to Chara’s room stood open and she could just make out the shape of Nico sleeping next to him. Happy the floors didn’t creak, Frisk slipped past Chara’s door and down the stairs. The moon floated high and full over the field, shining down on a white elk, pale pink flowers filling its antlers. It stood just at the edge of the front patio, pawing the ground with a hoof. On its back rested a pale white saddle to match the silver, embroidered saddle pad and reins. 

Frisk opened the front door, shivering at the chill air. Undaunted, she walked to the end of the patio, hand reaching out. The elk’s nose came up under her hand. 

“North Star?” Frisk shook her head. “No. North Star is a horse.” 

Her favorite horse. The horse none of the other girls would go near back at Marble Hills. Too wild to ride. Except for Frisk.

The elk huffed at her, shaking itself in a too familiar way.

“It is you, isn’t it?”

She crashed against the elk’s neck, hugging him tightly. 

“I don’t know how, but it’s you!”

She rubbed her face against the elk’s neck before stepping back and looking him over. 

“Are you alright? You aren’t hurt, are you?”

Frisk looked him over, checking under the saddle pad and the lines of the bridle. Seeing no injury, she hugged him again, petting the strong neck. The elk nuzzled her and Frisk reached for the reins, looking to mount the saddle. A hand grabbed the back of her pajamas and lifted her bodily in the air. She swung around to come face to face with Chara’s smile. 

“Uh… Hi?” she sputtered.

“You do not have permission to ride off on strange, magical creatures in the middle of the night. Especially when you aren’t wearing anything even close to suitable for the cold.”

He set Frisk down.

“You know this animal?” he asked.

Frisk nodded quickly. “It’s North Star! My horse! I know he doesn’t look like a horse now, but I know my--”

Chara waved to calm her. “I’m not a stranger to magical transformations.” He turned to the elk. “Get off my property.”

Frisk grabbed Chara’s arm. “Don’t send him away!”

“If he cares about you, he’ll honor my wishes. I’ve had three things in three days cross my wards when they should not have.”

Frisk’s arms crossed over her chest and her nose went in the air. “So I’m a thing, huh?”

Chara looked down his nose at her. “I was talking about the bear.”

“The bear?” Frisk’s arms fell to her side. “What do you mean?”

“It got up and walked away.”

“But you blew its head clean off…” Frisk stepped to his side quickly, holding onto his arm. “It’s not coming for me, is it?”

Chara’s shoulders dropped with his sigh. “I don’t know, but I don’t know that it was real either.”

Frisk looked to the ground, eyes on her feet, thinking hard. “You saw the fae on the field last night.”

Chara nodded once.

“Why are the fae interested in me?” Frisk whispered.

“Why do you have a transforming, fae blooded elk for a pet?” Chara asked.

Frisk looked up at him. “I… I don’t know.”

“I didn’t expect you to,” Chara sighed. “The question was rhetorical.” He rubbed her back. “Go back inside. It’s cold out here.”

“But…” Frisk hugged the elk around the neck.

Chara rubbed his forehead. “You can stay, Elk. But if you poop on my lawn, I will put an arrow through your skull. Got it?”

The elk snorted, shaking its antlers.

“Good. No night time rides unless it’s an emergency.”

The elk turned, rubbing it’s snout against Frisk’s face, before trotting off into the forest.

Chara looked down at Frisk.

She held up both hands. “I swear, I have no idea what’s going on!”

“I believe you.” Chara gestured toward the house.

Frisk walked back inside, sighing at the sudden warmth of the house. “I didn’t mean to wake you up.”

“You didn’t,” Chara said, locking the door behind him. “Your friend woke me when he crossed into the field.” He laid a hand on her head. “Go back to bed.”

Frisk looked up at him from under his hand. “Have you ever heard of someone named ‘Isilvarne?’”

Chara blinked, a deep warmth spreading throughout his body, his head feeling heavy and pleasant. 

“Um… Are you… Are you okay?” Frisk asked. She took his hand in hers.

“Yeah.” Chara shook off the heavy feeling. “I don’t believe I know anyone named Isilvarne.” The word felt familiar on his tongue, like it belonged there. He frowned. “It’s a fae name. Where did you hear it?”

Frisk paused, blinking as she looked out the windows toward the forest. “I don’t remember.” She stared at the trees. “I don’t think I walked here. Not all the way. Maybe North Star carried me. I was put on him when the school was attacked.” She took a step toward the door. 

Chara put a hand on her shoulder. “We won’t find those answers tonight.”

“But you are looking for them,” Frisk turned her head, looking up at Chara, “right?”

“Yes.”

Frisk shivered, hugging herself. “What happens if the answers aren’t good?”

Chara cocked his head to one side. “Are you asking if I’ll send you away?”

She stared at her feet. “I don’t know.”

Chara turned her toward him, hugging her close. “I’m not sending you away. Whatever answers are at the end of this, they won’t be enough for that.”

Frisk’s arms slid around his waist, resting her head against his chest. “How can you be so sure?”

Chara snorted, “Because I’ve read your file from Marble Hills and you are nowhere near the kind of problem child I was growing up.” He let go of her. “But you are still a problem child. Go to bed. You have school tomorrow.”

Frisk smiled and climbed the stairs. Chara walked to the front windows and looked out on the field. The elk moved like a ghost among the trees along the edge, walking the ward line. He checked the time on the clock over the stove: 300. 

“Too early to call mom and too wired to sleep.”

Chara sighed and sat on the couch, eyes on the elk as it wandered the far edge of the field. Another glow joined it. Chara jumped to his feet, rushing to the door to grab his binoculars off the hook. After a moment to adjust the dial, the image cleared. The fae from the night before walked with the elk, one slender hand on its strong neck. 

“Who are you?” Chara whispered.

Another figure joined them. This one was as tall as the fae, but nowhere near as slender. The hood of a long white cloak obscured the identity of the newcomer.

Chara sighed, disappointed. “We need to have a conversation, Mom.”

He hung up the binoculars and went to bed.

The next morning found Chara and Frisk back at the school. Toriel handed Frisk a schedule and a small notebook. “You placed into the Advanced Science, which is Chemistry this year, so you will have Dr. Whitman Monday through Thursday from 12:00 to 12:45. And remember that it’s ‘Doctor Whitman.’ Not ‘Mrs. Whitman.’”

Frisk nodded. She’d chosen a light blue dress that hit her mid thigh with a long peach skirt underneath for her first day of classes.

“Since you chose singing for music, you’ll have Mr. Fitz on Mondays and Wednesdays from 13:00 to 13:45 for chorus. It’s Thursday, so you only have one class today.”

Chara leaned back in the chair a bit, balancing on the back legs, knowing it would annoy his mother. “What about Language Arts?”

Toriel narrowed her eyes at her son. “Mrs. Rose has decided, based on the test, that putting you in with the pre-college level group for Language Arts will be holding you back. She’s giving you a completely modified course. She’s made a list of books that she wants you to read and write papers on. You can read the books in any order and when you finish a paper on one of them, you will submit it at the office.” 

Toriel handed the list to Chara while looking at Frisk. “She’s also impressed with your penmanship, so she would like you to submit three of the papers in handwriting to be sure you don’t lose the skill.”

Frisk nodded. 

Toriel checked her watch. “It’s ten minutes until today’s science class. I’ll take you to meet Dr. Whitman. I heard that you’ve already met Catti and Noelle. They’re both in advanced science, so it won’t be as if you don’t know anyone.”

“What about lunch?” Frisk lifted her lunch bag. “Do I really eat during class?”

“Don’t chew with your mouth open,” Chara said.

“Where do I go after school?” Frisk asked.

Chara leaned forward, letting the chair gently settle without banging on the floor. “I’ll be here to pick you up.” He stood and handed her the backpack she’d picked out yesterday.

Frisk stood and double checked the bag for notebooks and pencils.

Chara looked up at his mother. “Give us a minute?”

Toriel eyed him suspiciously before shrugging. “Just a minute.” She closed the door.

Chara crouched down to be eye level with Frisk. “Someone might give you a problem about being a human. So to that end, I have some advice.”

Frisk’s shoulder’s dropped, frown forming. “Suck it up?”

Chara snorted, “No. Never.” Chara squeezed Frisk’s shoulders. “Here in Kaparia, boarding school is seen as the place you send kids when you don’t want to be a parent, and there’s no way everyone here doesn’t know you’re adopted. So if a teacher starts on you, get teary eyed and get in their face about how you finally have a loving family who doesn’t send you away to boarding school, and they aren’t going to make you feel bad about that.”

Frisk eyed him suspiciously. “You were the bad kid in school, weren’t you?”

Chara smirked. “If it’s a student, stand up to them. Get in their face. You’re a Dreemurr. Assert yourself and other students will throw in with you.” 

“The name carries that much weight?”

Chara nodded. “When you see the opportunity to do so, make an enemy into a friend. Sometimes a smile is enough with monsterkind.” Chara turned Frisk toward the door. “Come on, your Grandmother is waiting.”

He opened the door for Frisk and watched as she followed Toriel down the hall. He sighed and pulled out his phone, dialing a number he called once a month. 

Grace Shadle picked up on the first ring. “Good morning, Christopher.”

“Hello, Grace.” He rubbed the back of his neck and leaned back against the wall. “There’s someone I’d like you to meet.”

“Really? After fifteen years you’ve finally found someone? Oh Chara, you do not need my approval to--”

“It’s not like that. I adopted a little girl. I thought you and Victor might want to meet her.”

The sound of something hitting the floor came over the phone followed by the yelp of an older man. 

“Absolutely! Bring her over for dinner tonight!” There was a bit of shuffling as Grace cleaned something up. “You haven’t mentioned wanting to adopt before. What changed?”

“Nothing changed. It’s just what Frisk would have wanted me to do. She has an unusual political status. Because of this, we’re…” Chara’s eyes squeezed shut. 

“Chara?”

He sucked in a breath through his nose, letting it out slowly. “We’re making it look like she’s Isabella.”

Grace’s voice came over a whisper. “Are you… Are you okay with that?”

“No.” Chara sighed. “But I’m dealing with it.”

“What’s her name?”

“Frisk.”

Grace paused for a moment. “No. I meant…”

“Her name is Frisk. So, yeah, I’m dealing with that too. Now you get to deal with it.”

“Misery loves company, huh?” Grace’s sad smile was evident in her voice. “Dinner will be at four. Come over around two. Does she need anything? Clothing? Shoes? Toys?”

“She’s fifteen and needs things that will help keep her busy when the snow starts falling.”

“You know,” Grace hummed thoughtfully, “you could always open my daughter’s studio.”

“I buried the key to that room with her. I’m not opening it again.”

“Oh, Christopher,” Grace sighed. “We’ll see you soon. Bring dessert.”

“See you soon.” Chara hung up and opened the door, looking for Toriel. 

Down the hall, he watched Frisk enter the science class, introductions with the school counselor having already been made.

Frisk stood with Dr. Whitman, a tall, green fish woman of exaggerated curves, long blue hair tied up in a bun, wearing jeans and a blouse. She handed Frisk a textbook and a set of stapled papers.

“This is the chem book we are using this year and this is the syllabus. Keep the two together. When the snow starts falling and you can’t get into school, follow the instructions in the syllabus for your assignments. Since you live on the side of the ridge, there are likely to be days where the only way you’re getting into town is on skis.”

“Do people ski into school?” Frisk asked.

“If the snow isn’t too deep, yes. Do you wish to be introduced to the class by standing up here at the front or sitting from your seat?”

“From my seat, please,” Frisk answered.

“As you wish. I don’t assign seats, but everyone has already chosen their spot for this class, so you have a choice between,” she pointed with one, overly long finger at desks in the second, third, and forth rows, “that one, that one, and that one.” She walked over and tapped the desk in the second row. “I’ve heard a rumor that you’ve met Noelle and Catti already. This seat would put you behind Noelle.”

“I’ll take that one,” Frisk said.

“A good choice. Noelle is a good influence.” 

On cue, Noelle came in the door. “Frisk! You placed with us? That’s great!” She slid into her chair.

Frisk took the seat behind her.

“You’ll like Dr. Whitman. She’s really nice and she uses a point system for her classes. Once you earn 10,000 points, you have an A and can slack off for the rest of the year. But it’s pretty hard to hit the point threshold this early in the year. Most students hit it around March or April.”

“So what does that mean for me, point wise?”

“Uh…” Noelle looked a little lost and turned in her seat. “Dr. Whitman? What about Frisk’s points? Will she have to catch up?”

Students filed into the class, pulling out their lunches and their notebooks. Catti took the seat next to Frisk, eyeing a turtle monster as if challenging him for the seat.

Dr. Whitman shook her head. “I gave you points based on your assessment. You are on par with the rest of the class.”

“Thank you.”

Dr. Whitman smiled and turned to the class. “Welcome back to Chemistry. Today, we have a new student joining the class. Frisk Dreemurr, the daughter of Prince Christopher.”

Frisk waved, giving the others a smile despite the open looks of shock on many faces. A purple komodo dragon monster came in late, shaggy hair covering her eyes. She took a desk in the back.

Dr. Whitman turned to the blackboard. “Today I am assigning a science project. It is worth a total of 250 points. You will be randomly sorted into pairs to complete the project.”

Several of the students glanced Frisk’s way. Frisk ignored them.

“For this project, you will demonstrate a chemical reaction of your choosing for the science fair next Thursday. And you must include a demonstration. You may not treat it as a poster session. If your project is particularly explosive,” Dr. Whitman looked pointedly toward the back of the class. “A video of the demonstration is required.”

A yellow and green snake monster in a baseball cap laughed only to cough, choking on his lunch. The purple monster reached over and whacked the snake on the back hard enough to dislodge the food, and knock the snake flat on his desk. 

He came back up, looking dizzy. “Thanks, Susie…” He flopped back down on his desk.

Dr. Whitman sighed and turned to Noelle. “If you decide to do a food based demonstration, make sure you have enough to share with every student in the school, all faculty members, and interested parents.”

Noelle sat up straight and saluted, causing a chuckle to run through the class. 

Dr. Whitman picked up a tablet from her desk, tapping it. “Assignments are: Jockington and Catti.”

Catti sighed as the snake in the hat sat up, all smiles.

“Alan and Temmie.”

Alan, the turtle monster, face planted on the table.

“Snowy and Noelle.”

Snowy jumped up. “Yes! Suck it, Berdly!”

“Berdly and MK.”

Berdly put his head in his wings. “Oh you’ve got to be kidding me. Can’t we please choose our partners, Dr. Whitman?”

“No. Susie and Frisk.”

Dead silence took over the class. Everyone, except Susie and Catti, was looking at Frisk. Frisk looked to Catti. Catti glanced at her and shrugged.

‘Sorry,’ Noelle mouthed.

Frisk frowned, not sure what to make of either response. 

Dr. Whitman turned to the board. “Open textbooks to page 83. We are continuing with the structure of the atom. Frisk, you will want to read chapter one and chapter two up to where we are now over the weekend.”

Frisk nodded and took a bite from her sandwich. Class went quickly, and quietly with everyone eating. Sneaking glances at Susie, Frisk was sure the purple girl was sleeping. When the bell rang, Noelle gave her a wave before running out the door. Frisk stood to talk to Susie only to find her gone. Frisk stuffed her things into her backpack and rushed out the door to find the purple monster. 

A large cobra monster slithered in front of her in the hall, blocking her way; its black scales and long fangs glistening. A warthog monster stood to the cobra’s right giving Frisk a less than friendly smile.

“Look at this,” the cobra hissed, rearing up tall over Frisk. “Looks like we got a new human.”

A crowd of monsters gathered around them.

Frisk’s eyes narrowed and she stood up straight, shoulders rolling back. “You got a problem with that?”

The cobra paused for a moment before smiling. “Oh I’m just going to teach you who's in charge around here.”

The warthog stepped forward, chuckling. Frisk let her shoulders drop and her backpack slid down, the strap landing in her left hand. 

Susie came up behind Frisk, towering over the crowd. “You’re talking about me, right, Alma? Can’t imagine it’s anyone else.”

Alma backed up. The warthog looked between Susie and Alma before looking at Frisk. Frisk gave him a smile and a wink. He coughed lightly, cheeks flushing a bright pink before walking away quickly. Alma looked back and forth between Frisk and the warthog before slithering off. The crowd dispersed, disappointed.

Frisk turned around only to have Susie grab the front of Frisk’s dress and lift her up so they were face to face.

“Ooh look at you! I bet you think you’re brave, huh?”

Frisk glared. “If you want a fight, I’m your huckleberry.”

Susie dropped her and Frisk stumbled to keep her feet. “Nah. I like your dad. Wouldn’t want him to have to bury his kid.” Susie turned, putting her hands in her pockets and walking off. 

Frisk gripped her backpack’s strap and leaned back to push off for a running tackle. A hand landed on her shoulder and she paused. Looking back, Catti let go of her shoulder and gave her a shake of the head before walking away.


	6. Chapter 6

Toriel opened her office door to find Chara waiting for her. He leaned back against the wall, hands in his pockets, eyes on the younger monsters playing outside the window.

“Care to explain what you were doing last night?”

Toriel gave him a smile. “What are you talking about, Chara?”

Chara crossed his arms over his chest. “Don’t give me that. I saw you with the fae woman on my property. What’s going on and what does it have to do with Frisk?”

Toriel stood up straight, and Chara found himself looking up at the Queen of All Monsters. He dug his fingernails into his palm to resist the sudden urge to bow.

She looked down her snout at her son. “Are you accusing me of keeping secrets?”

“It’s hardly an accusation when it’s part of your job description,” Chara huffed.

Toriel turned her chair away from her desk and took a seat, her back ramrod straight. “I am not at liberty to reveal much to anyone beyond your father. All I can say is that the fae are interested in keeping Frisk safe.”

“The story about the Andorini royal line having fae blood is true.”

Toriel nodded. “They don’t care about Andorini’s people as such. They are human. But, you are going to see fae of all sorts checking up on Frisk. I don’t think it’s a good idea that they are, but that’s not my decision.”

“Not a good idea because I might decide to do something about fae on my lawn? Or not a good idea because it might attract something else?” Chara asked.

Toriel frowned. “You are too perceptive, My Child.”

Chara dropped into a chair. “What do I need to be looking for?”

Toriel shook her head. “I don’t know. And I truly don’t.” Toriel sighed. “Whatever it is, they won’t speak of it.”

“Then it wasn’t an accident that she ended up on my doorstep. Is Frisk part of the treaty with the fae?” Chara looked out the window again, watching the monster children play. 

Toriel snorted, “That treaty was struck before we adopted you and your sister.”

“What does that matter? I know that the fae don’t experience time the same way humans and monsters do.” 

Toriel dodged. “What will you do?”

“Chrissy had a vision the other day.” Chara stood and walked to the window. “A white rabbit with two different colored eyes. Whatever it is, it wants Frisk.”

“Do you need to know why?” Toriel asked.

Chara’s eyes narrowed. “You know what it is.”

Toriel shook her head. “Again. They won’t speak of it. Maybe doing so draws its attention.”

“I’d like to know why. I’d also like to know what I need to do to protect her from it.” Chara turned from the window, arms still crossed over his chest. “Can you get me that information?”

“I’ll try.”

“Why didn’t you call Gabe about the adoption?” he asked.

Toriel smiled then; golden, glorious. “As a favor to him.”

Chara’s eyes narrowed. “A favor?”

“He enjoys talking to you.”

“He wants me back in the Guard. He always has.” Chara sighed, deflated. “I’m not leaving Nightrest.”

“With Frisk here, that’s for the best.”

Chara zipped up his jacket and stood to attention. “By your leave, Madam.”

Toriel’s shoulders dropped, posture rounding as the Queen disappeared. “Christopher…” She let out a choked sob and waved him out.

Chara bowed and left the office, closing the door behind him to muffle his mother’s tears. He stopped for a moment to check his hand. Tiny, angry purple, halfmoon bruises greeted him, but he hadn’t drawn blood. The halls of the school were quiet but for the occasional student with a hall pass, all of whom waved or said hello when they saw him. Leaving the school put Chara in the small parking lot next to it. He climbed in his jeep, closed the door, and pulled out his phone.

Sans picked up on the first ring, “*yo.”

“If you weren’t already hanging with my mother tonight, you will be now. Take a bottle of wine with you.”

“*chara, did you make your mother cry?”

“Yes. Yes, I did.”

Sans hummed into the phone. “*well, you only do that when you treat her like she’s the queen and not your mom. so, why’d you go all formal?”

“For the record, she decided to be the Queen of All Monsters first,” Chara scowled.

“*noted.”

“Fae have always been on my property, but now they’re crossing the wards onto the field. Most notably, one I’m sure is royalty by bearing alone. That one and mom were talking while circling the field last night and she tried to sell me that it wasn’t her.”

Sans was quiet for a moment. “*why haven’t you asked me to tell you what i know?”

Chara let out a chuckle that ended on a sigh. “I was guard, Sans. I’m not going to ask you to betray your oath to secrecy.”

“*you could join the guard again and i could just tell you.”

“Don’t make me swear at you, Comedian.”

“*just consider yourself lucky that you don’t hear it from dyne. or from my little bro for that matter. he misses you a whole lot,” Sans chuckled. 

Chara huffed.

“*okay, okay. i don’t actually know all that much. tori’s been tight lipped with me too. for example, i had no idea she was traipsing around in the middle of the woods in the middle of the night.”

The skeleton sighed. “*here’s what i can tell you since it’s someone else’s secret and not mine to keep: the pierce family in the direct line to the throne is way closer to the fae then the public is aware of. the family ‘sacrifices’ a blood relation who is a potential heir to the fae every generation. that person grows up among the fae to help keep the ties strong. and, well, love springs eternal, and babies happen from time to time. which is, apparently, what both the fae and the royal family are going for.”

Sans’ voice went quiet. “*no one’s said this out loud, so it’s my speculation. i think frisk’s biological mother is the current sacrifice.”

“Frisk is half fae…”

“*it’s where i’m putting my money.”

“How would we know for sure?” Chara asked.

“*that’s the tricky part. she could walk around her entire life with it never showing. it really depends on how powerful the father is as to whether or not she will manifest. and even if she does, she may just slide back into being human with a few nifty abilities under her belt having never been the wiser. i’ve seen that.”

“So… How close is she to the fae royal line?”

“*not sure. even so, if we’re right, she is half human. it disqualifies her for any kind of ascendance among the fae.” 

The line beeped.

“*that’s gabe calling. if i learn anything else i can share, i will. but, uh, get used to having neighbors.”

“Talk to you later.” Chara hung up and sat back, staring up at a particular spot on the ridge. “I really wish you were here right now. I could really use your advice.”

He took a deep breath, let it out slowly, and climbed out of the jeep. Taking a short walk up the road, he bought himself lunch at Brew Ha Ha, the local cafe. The cafe lived in a heavily renovated, two story house. Part of the second floor was missing to make a mezzanine and most of the interior walls had been knocked out to open the space entirely. The kitchen was enclosed, leaving only a front counter stained a warm, cherry brown next to a glass case full of appetizing foods. 

Chara ordered from the dark haired, human woman behind the counter who stared at him like a deer in headlights, and chose a seat by the window. After lunch, he pulled out his sketchbook, doodling without really looking at the page, clearing his head while he nursed a mug of hot chocolate.

The dark haired woman whispered at the brown cow monster in the kitchen. “Hey, Mabel? Remember when you said that I should tell you if I notice something weird in the cafe? Well, it’s a human. He did buy lunch and a big hot chocolate, but now he’s just sitting at the window.”

Mabel wiped her hands on her uniform apron and looked over the counter only to gasp. She waved. “Chara Dreemurr! What are you doing here?”

Chara looked up from his sketchbook and gave the cow a smile before coming over. He leaned on the counter, getting conspiratorially close. “Don’t you know, Mabel? I can’t believe that Catty or Bratty haven’t come in to talk your ear off about it.”

“Oh please,” she snorted, “I haven’t listened to a word the two of them have said in years. So what’s the juicy story?”

Chara’s smile widened. “I adopted a little girl.”

Mabel’s jaw dropped. “You’re joshing me!”

“Nope. I’m waiting until she finishes school for the day. Then I’ll bring her in to pick out a dessert for dinner tonight at the Shadle’s.”

Mabel opened the case. “I’ll just move a few of the chocolate cakes back so she has the best to choose from.”

“You are a doll.” His eyes flicked to the other woman and he stood up straight. “I’m sorry. I don’t believe we’ve met. I’m Christopher Dreemurr, but most people just call me Chara.” He offered his hand to shake.

“Natalie Bridges.” She took his hand to shake and then blanched, dropping his hand. “Christopher Dreemurr? Prince Christopher Dreemurr?” She awkwardly tried to curtsy only to have Mabel catch her before she fell into the counter.

Chara politely swallowed a laugh. “You don’t need to do that. But if you promise to fall over like that again, I will pay you to do it for my brother. He’ll think it’s hysterical.”

Mabel clucked her tongue at him. “Oh shush, you!” Once Natalie was righted, Mabel leaned against the counter. “Does this mean we get to see you here more often?”

He leaned against the case, propping his cheek on his fist. “Probably. It’s not a bad place to get a bit of the non-carving part of my work done.”

“Then how about a trade? Free lunch for your talents.”

Chara leaned in a little closer. “What do you have in mind?”

“Flirt,” Mabel chuckled and gestured toward the glass doors. “You know the big window art you do for the municipal building every Christmas? I’d love some of that with a seasonal flair on my doors and the big window. Now I don’t want a show stopper taking up the window. I’m thinking edging so people can still see inside and out.”

Chara thought about it, doing the math in his head. “Lunch is four to eight gold, and Frisk is only at the school 4 days a week. That’s an average of twenty-four a week. How about the little windows?” He tapped the glass food case. “And the counter?”

“We can discuss the little stuff for major holidays separately.”

“Are you looking at a two week change over?”

Mabel nodded. 

Chara held out his hand. “You’ve got a deal.”

Mabel shook on it, the strange, hoof hard ends of her fingers, scratching against Chara’s skin.

Chara’s phone beeped and he turned off the alarm. “Time to go pick her up.”

Natalie stared after Chara while poking Mabel. “Did you really just make a deal with a prince to do window art?”

Mabel snorted. “Oh wow. Sometimes I forget how new to town you are. And yes, I just did.”

Natalie’s jaw dropped. “How did you not get… I don’t know… told off? Or had the royal guard sicced on you?”

“I was a member of the royal guard and I still train, so I’d be absolutely embarrassed if I needed another member of the guard to save me from Mabel,” Chara called over his shoulder. 

He grabbed his sketchbook from the table before bringing his empty mug to the counter. “I live in Nightrest, Ms. Bridges. So does my mother. You’ll just have to get used to the idea that you have royalty for neighbors.”

“It’s ‘Miss.’” Natalie inhaled sharply at herself and looked away.

“As you wish.” Chara winked at Mabel. “See you in a few.”

Stepping outside, Chara zipped up his jacket against the growing chill and headed toward the school, hands in his pockets. Human and monster students spilled from the front doors, some getting a breath of air before heading back in while others left wholesale for home. Frisk trudged out, hands gripping her backpack’s straps, walked over to Chara, and rested her forehead against his chest.

“Bad day?”

“No. Recent events have set my bar for a bad day astronomically high,” she muttered against him.

“I’ll bet.”

Frisk turned her face up toward him. “A snake monster... Alma? She got in my face and went packing when Susie showed up. But then Susie was in my face. And I have to do a school project with her for next week.”

Chara hugged her. “Susie is all bark and no bite. The pointy teeth are scary, but she won’t use them. When she starts pushing you around, go for the throat.”

Frisk crossed her arms over her chest, pouting. “She’s got a good foot and a half on me, and she can pick me up with one hand. And you expect me to pull that off?”

“Says the girl who had her brush taken from her for using it as a weapon.”

Frisk eyed him with a wry smile. “You were the bad kid in school.”

“Yes. Yes, I was,” Chara chuckled. “I put bath bombs in all the toilets. Wasn’t caught either.”

Frisk snorted and then full on laughed. “I am so telling your mom!”

Chara waved a chiding finger at her. “I wouldn’t if I were you. If you tell her, then she’ll know who’s responsible when you try the same trick, though I’d hope you’d come up with something a bit more creative.” 

Frisk blinked, a thought dawning on her. “You know Susie.”

Chara nodded and walked Frisk to the cafe. “She’s a Terra Scout. Only a very few of the kids in Nightrest aren’t.” He held the cafe door for her. “We’re visiting my wife’s family for dinner and I want you to pick out a cake for dessert.”

Frisk went over to the display case, looking inside. 

Mabel leaned over the counter. “Is this her?”

Chara nodded. “This is Frisk. Frisk, this is Mrs. Mabel Weber.” He gestured to Natalie. “And Miss Natalie Bridges.”

Natalie turned away to hide her blush, busying herself with the cakes.

“Another human?” Frisk looked after Natalie. “How many humans are in Nightrest?”

“Twelve or so,” Chara answered. “There are far more humans at the capital and further south in the more tropical regions of Kaparia.”

Unlike the others who heard Frisk’s name, Mabel didn’t miss a beat and patted the counter. “Come over here, Honey. Pick from one of these.” 

Frisk stepped up to the counter as Natalie put three cakes in front of her. All three were chocolate, but were different shapes with different icings. Frisk chose the square one with chocolate icing, chocolate chips mashed into the sides, and fresh strawberries on top.

Mabel slipped the cake into a box. “Good pick!” 

Chara handed her cash and received the box in return. Laughter drew Frisk’s attention to the mezzanine and a few old monster ladies smiling down at her. She gave them a wave before following Chara out the door. When Frisk was situated in the jeep, Chara handed her the box and she cradled it gently on her lap. 

Frisk looked up at Chara as the jeep pulled out of the municipal parking lot. “Why the visit?”

“I want them to meet you. Do you have homework?”

“Besides the project, I have to do some catch up reading. I can do that tonight. It’s not a lot.” Frisk sighed, her hands shifting on the box. “What are they like? Your in-laws.”

Chara smiled softly. “Grace and Patrick Shadle are two of the nicest people I know.”

Frisk smirked. “Not sure why they let you marry their daughter?”

“Cheeky brat.”

She giggled, before settling in the seat. “Where were you this morning? When I got up, you weren’t in the house. Were you in the workshop? That’s the A-frame next door, right?”

Chara spared her a quick glance and a smile. “Just doing my morning workout. And yes, the A-frame next door is the workshop, though the second floor of it is a guest house.”

Frisk thought about that. “Have you ever had to chase a vagrant out?”

“Does my brother count?”

Frisk giggled. “Prince Asriel seems very nice. A bit of a weisenheimer.”

Chara nodded. “Oh yeah. And you’ll want to call him Uncle. He’s very taken with you.”

“Your family is really quick to the adoption. They treated me like I’d always been there. Were they told to do that?” 

Chara shook his head. “While that’s generally the plan, they have all decided to like you so you’ll just have to live with that.”

Frisk smiled and then her face cracked. “I don’t understand.” Tears welled up in her eyes, dripping heavy down her face. “I don’t understand.”

Chara pulled over on the side of the road, parking the jeep. He reached over and touched Frisk’s face, turning her chin up so she looked at him. 

“Hey. I can’t speak for your parents. I don’t know what they thought, or how they felt, or why they made the decisions they did. And we won’t ever have the chance to ask them.” 

Frisk sniffed.

Chara smiled softly. “So, from here on out, I want you to always think of them as having done what they thought was best for you. No parent is perfect. And everyone makes mistakes. Yes, they sent you away. But they sent you away to a place you loved to be, with friends you enjoyed living with, and put you in the care of people who genuinely wanted to look out for you.”

Frisk wiped at her eyes and gave him a weak smile. “I didn’t really get to talk with anyone other than the cousins during dinner. What are your siblings like?”

Chara pulled out his handkerchief and handed it to Frisk. “Astelle is very reserved, and always cool headed so it can be hard to tell when she’s happy, even when she’s smiling. Asriel is very outgoing, even compared to Chrissy, and very wise. He’s been slowly taking over duties from dad over the last few years, which means the family sees less and less of him as time goes on.”

“And the king?” Frisk asked, wiping her nose.

Chara put the jeep back into drive and pulled back out on the road. “Dad has a public face and a private face. As king, he needs to act the part all the time, strong, confident, with a core of steel. It’s only when he’s not ‘on duty’ that you get to see the real monster behind the crown. That’s when you realize that he’s a big marshmallow.”

Frisk giggled, only to sniff again.

“My grandfather, Amordan, is still kicking, but he spends most of his days sleeping. We expect he’ll fall down soon.”

“Fall down?”

Chara nodded. “It’s how monsterkind dies. They fall down, like they’re in a coma, and then, a few days later, they turn to dust.”

“He’s the one with the soft spot for you and your sister.”

Chara nodded. “I think he’s forgotten that we’re human. Lately, he’s been calling us his ‘blue children.’ It always embarrasses Mom when he does it, and we always tell her not to mind. It’s a sign that his sight is going. With monsterkind, aging can get weird. Instead of losing sight, what they see starts to get mixed up.”

Chara pulled into the driveway of a very white and very boxy house. The windows were gilded with navy blue shutters, and the front door was painted a bright red. Frisk put the cake next to her and slid out of the jeep before shouldering her backpack. Chara grabbed the cake and nodded for Frisk to follow. He knocked once and let himself into a warm living room with white walls, an overstuffed gray couch, and an olive green accent chair. 

Chara toed off his shoes into the basket next to the door. “Grace! Patrick! We’re here!”

Grace Shadle, a woman who was thin and weathered from a lifetime spent as a landscaper, came in from the kitchen, wiping her hands on a dishcloth. She threw it over her shoulder, causing the gray streaked hair that wasn’t tightly nestled in the dark brown bun on her head to flutter around her neck. She hugged Chara, who managed to balance the cake with one hand to hug her back, before looking over Frisk.

She elbowed Chara. “You did not tell me she was this cute.”

Chara rolled his eyes. “Grace, this is Frisk. Frisk, this is Grace Shadle. Where’s Pat?”

“It’s nice to meet you Mrs. Shadle.” Frisk held her hand out to shake and was gathered up into a big hug. “Eek!”

Grace planted a big kiss on Frisk’s cheek. “It’s Grandma, Dear.” She set Frisk down. “Chicken soup and subs are on the menu for dinner. Does that sound good?”

Frisk nodded. “Yes. Thank you.”

Grace drew Frisk into the kitchen. “Come in! Come in! I’ve got something for you.”

Chara chuckled through a sigh. “I still want to know what you did with your husband.”

“Pat’s in the kitchen.”

Frisk stepped into a kitchen with white countertops, white cabinets, baby blue tiled walls, and wooden everything else. The delicious smell of soup filled the room. Chara set the cake down on a counter. Patrick, a tall, balding man, waited next to a huge, cellophane wrapped basket sporting a big pink bow. 

“Here we are.” Grace patted the stool in front of the basket. “Go on. Open it up.”

Frisk glanced at Chara before pulling the ribbon. The cellophane fell away to reveal several art, craft, and activity kits: knitting, embroidery, needle felting, chocolate making, herb growing, jewelry, solar photography, bread baking, soap making, lip balm making, painting, sewing, and candle making.

“I wasn’t sure what you would like, so I went with a little bit of everything.”

Frisk gave Grace a big smile. “Thank you so very much! There’s a lot here I’ve always wanted to try.”

“These will help keep you from getting bored up on the ridge,” Pat said. “Especially since your father doesn’t own a TV.”

“I do own a TV, Patrick. I just keep it out of sight when you visit,” Chara said.

Frisk looked between the two before turning to Grace. “Is this a thing?”

“Yes. Your Grandfather enjoys watching sports all day and is still unhappy that Chara won’t let him do it at the A-frames.” Grace put a photo album in front of Frisk. “Now hush, both of you. Frisk and I have years of memories to catch up on.”

Frisk opened the album to stare at several baby pictures.

“This is for you. It’s an album of my Frisk.”


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Frisk placed the photo album on the bookshelf in her room. She’d stayed up late, staring at the photos, the life of the woman from her dream. Her fingers remained on the album for a minute, lost in the jumble of someone else’s memories, stillborn in tragedy.

“I escaped. You stood and fought. Does that make me a coward? Or does it not even equate?”

“It doesn’t equate,” Chara answered. 

Frisk’s hand dropped and she turned.

Chara stood in the doorway with a gentle smile on his face. “Come on. Breakfast is waiting.”

“Why not?”

“Because it is not a child’s duty to shield others.” Chara held out a hand.

Frisk took it, letting him lead her down the stairs and into the kitchen. Wheat toast and medicine waited on the bar for her next to a pile of books and textbooks. She sat down, swallowed her pills dry and followed it with the toast.

“I’m not sure that makes me feel better,” she muttered between bites.

“It won’t now. It will later.” Chara sat opposite her with a plate of eggs. “We should have a therapist for you to see soon.”

“We?”

Chara took a sip of hot chocolate before answering. “It goes through a couple people before someone is cleared to do any psych work for the royal family. I’m hoping the guard will approve more than one person.”

“In case I don’t like the first one?”

“Exactly.” Chara pointed at the textbooks. “For history, I’m going to have you read the textbook and do the work in the accompanying workbook pages. There are four sections. When you finish a section, you get a test to see if you’re retaining the information.”

“That doesn’t sound too bad.”

“It’s not. Work at your own pace. When the snow hits, you’re likely to rush through your schoolwork anyway. The only thing I expect to see you work on everyday is math. Though for your physical education, we’ll be doing something very different from sports.”

“Self defense?” Frisk asked.

“You’re on a roll today,” Chara answered.

“Am I in that much danger?”

Chara sighed. “I don’t know. I’m hoping that being in Nightrest means that you’ll be far from actual danger. But I won’t rest on hope alone.”

Frisk frowned and pulled a book from the pile. “Is it really all right to be doing this?”

“What do you mean?”

“Going to school. Doing chores. Just acting normal. Shouldn’t I be… I don’t know.”

Chara smiled. “The best way to recover from a traumatic experience is to keep doing normal things. To stick to routines and plans already made. You’re in the uncomfortable position of having to do those things far from anything that feels like home and nothing like normal for you. To make a life that everyone here will say always was. I don’t expect you to be suddenly cured by having so many people treat you with kindness and love out of the blue. It is absolutely not normal and you have the added problem of needing to absorb something of the lives of my wife and I to maintain a cover.

“No one expects that of an adult, let alone a child. And there’s nothing wrong with feeling that all of this is surreal at best and outright suspicious at worst. But the best way to handle all of it is to keep moving forward.”

Frisk smiled weakly. “Do you always know what to say?”

“No,” Chara sighed. “But I’ve been there too. Different circumstances, but the same end results. Do you want something else for breakfast? By the time I’m done making it, you’ll be fine to eat.”

Frisk shook her head. “I can reach the cereal when I’m ready.”

Chara nodded. “Works for me. It’s cleaning day. I’ll be doing the bathrooms, my bedroom, and kitchen.You get to dust and vacuum the living room, hallway, and mudroom. Please do that just before your shower tonight.”

“Okay.” Frisk hopped off the stool. 

She grabbed her textbooks as Chara put the breakfast dishes in the sink. He disappeared up the stairs.

Camping out on the living room sofa, Frisk cracked open the math book. There was a knock on the front door and she looked over to see Suzie kneeling next to the door, a backpack on her shoulder. Toby and Niko jumped around her while she petted them. Frisk huffed, dropping the book as she stood. 

Frisk scowled as she opened the door. “What are you doing here?”

“We have a science project to do, remember?”

Frisk crossed her arms over her chest, head cocked back so she was looking down her nose at the purple monster. “What? You aren’t going to make me do it for you?”

“And take the chance that you’ll screw it up?” Susie snorted. “Pass.” 

She pushed passed Frisk and into the house. The dogs turned and ran back out into the field.

“I have 9,850 points so far this year in Chem. Another 150 means I hit 10,000 and an automatic A for the year. This project is worth enough points that acing it means I can blow off class for the rest of the year.”

Frisk shoved Susie backwards and out the door. “Then do it yourself! I’ve got no reason to help you!”

Susie set her feet and leaned forward, staying in place as Frisk pushed. “Neither of us will get the points if only one of us does the work, you little shit!”

“Bitch!”

“Language! Both of you!” Chara yelled from the second floor. 

Susie suddenly stood at attention. “Sorry, Mr. Dreemurr!”

“Sorry,” Frisk grumbled.

“If I hear another round from the two of you, you can both look forward to being grounded on top of latrine duty for the next year of camping. Now get to work. Both of you.”

Susie’s shoulders fell. “Yes, Sir.”

Frisk glared at Susie. “How would you get grounded?”

The purple monster grimaced. “He’d call my Dad. Duh.”

Susie took a deep breath and let it out in a sigh. Stepping inside the door, she put her hands on her hips and looked around. “It’s been a while since I was here last. Some of the paintings are new.” She toed her sneakers off and left them next to the door.

Frisk walked over to the couch and plopped back down with her books. “You’ve been here before?”

Susie sat on the couch, ignoring Frisk’s frown. “Yeah. When Mr. Dreemurr became the local scout master, my dad signed me up for scouts. I didn’t want to be there, so I caused trouble and ended up in time out real fast. I went home crying about it to my dad knowing he’d get all huffy. The next day, dad’s pounding on the front door, roaring for a fight. And, you know, Mr. Dreemurr’s a human and my dad wasn’t gonna let a human time out his daughter.”

Susie’s eyes went starry. “Your Dad opens the door wearing a Knight of Kaparia shirt. And he looks like he’d just finished working out so his hair is in his face, and his eyes are bright red from using magic. He asks my dad what the problem was while wiping his face with the shirt, showing off super ripped abs!

“Dad deflated like a freaking balloon!” Susie laughed, a hand covering her eyes. “Instead of a fight, he asked whether or not I should be grounded!”

“My Dad…” Frisk looked up toward Chara’s bedroom on the second floor, but didn’t see him. She shook her head. “Knight of Kaparia shirt? Is that a thing?”

Susie pulled her bag up to the bar. “Oh yeah! So the only way to get anything that says Knight of Kaparia on it, is to be a member of the royal guard, and to be a member of the royal guard, you have to be a legit badass. Being part of the royal family doesn’t get you a free pass in. It’s actually more of a reason to keep you out. You have to be the real deal. And he still trains like he’s in the guard with Sheriff Undyne.” 

Frisk turned to Susie. “Why the tight hold on the swag?”

“Because unlike other countries, being a knight isn’t a title or an honor here. Only members of the royal guard are knighted. The swag is one of the benefits. Like that locket your dad wears.”

Frisk held up her hands, making a heart with her fingers. “The heart shaped one?”

“Yeah. The symbol on the outside is the crest of the knights and inside is a photo of the royal family member or members they are sworn to protect.”

“Do you know whose photo is in it?”

Susie frowned. “I’m guessing Prince Asriel, but since your dad’s retired, it’s probably empty.” She sat down. “Anyway, science project. Let’s blow something up.”

Frisk sighed, “You’re the reason Dr. Whitman said explosions had to be filmed, right?”

“Hell yeah!” Susie chuckled. “Blew a hole in the school roof!”

Frisk thought about it for a minute. “You know that powdered coffee creamer is explosive, right?”

“Seriously?” Susie huffed. “The stuff in the little packets? No way.”

“That’s the rumor. We weren’t allowed to have it at the boarding school.”

“I don’t believe that.” Susie shrugged. “If we test it and it doesn’t work, can we move on to something that actually goes bang?”

Frisk nodded.

“Hey, Mr. Dreemurr!” Susie yelled. “Do you have any powdered coffee creamer?”

“I don’t drink coffee except on special occasions,” Chara yelled back. A moment later he appeared at the balcony railing. “And I wouldn’t keep that stuff around anyway. It’s explosive.”

Susie’s eyes went wide. “No. Way.”

Chara gave the girls a wry smile. “Are you going to blow something up in the name of science?”

“Duh.”

“Let me call the Sheriff and see if I can get you girls in at the quarry this weekend with the bomb specialist and a whole lot of powdered coffee creamer.” 

Susie jumped out of her seat. “Yes!”

“Do you think you’ll be all right with an explosion, Frisk?” Chara asked.

“Yeah. Why wouldn’t I…” Frisk trailed off, blinking. She swallowed, caught Susie looking at her, and shook it off. “Yeah.” Squaring her shoulders, she tossed her hair back with a head shake. “It’s cool.”

Susie looked between them. “Uh…”

“I’ll make the call. You two start writing up your experiment.” He turned from the balcony.

Susie looked down at Frisk. “You okay?”

“I’m fine,” Frisk growled.

“Listen. About yesterday…”

“I don’t care what you have to say and I don’t particularly want to hear it either. I appreciated the save, but you didn’t have to be a jerk afterwards. The only reason I didn’t jump you when you turned your back is because Catti stopped me.”

Susie’s nostrils flared, hands on her hips. “I wasn’t helping you. You had your bag in your hand. I was saving Alma from getting her slithery ass kicked!”

“Oh, so that’s worth threatening me?”

Susie’s arms crossed over her chest. “I have a reputation to maintain.”

Frisk stood. “If that’s the reputation you want, fine. Just don’t involve me unless you want a fight.”

“Oh, the cute little human thinks she can take me?” Suzie snarled. She leaned over, teeth sharp in Frisk’s face. “I’m waiting.”

“No fighting in the house,” Chara called. 

Suzie and Frisk backed away from each other.

Chara came down the stairs and into the living room. “Suzie, apologize for yesterday.”

Suzie huffed. “I’m sorry I was a twat yesterday.”

“Frisk, apologize for picking a fight.”

Frisk’s shoulders dropped. “Sorry for getting in your face.”

Chara crossed his arms over his chest. “Both of you will consider the past dropped. Got it?”

“Yes,” both responded.

“Good. You’ve earned yourselves latrine duty and grounding.” 

Both girls groaned.

“I got the quarry for tomorrow and I need to go into town to pick up the permit and a lot of powdered creamer. Do you need anything else while I’m out?”

Susie spun around to face Chara. “Yeah. How about getting us some pizza?”

Chara’s hands went to his hips. “Really.”

“I’m good for it!” Susie pulled cash out of her pocket. “Dad told me to buy you both lunch.”

Chara sighed. “I’ll pick up pizza. No more fighting. When I come back, I want to see a write up of your experiment and a drawing of what the show board will look like. Email Dr. Whitman and let her know you’ll need a monitor to show off the experiment results.”

The girls watched him pull on a jacket as he headed out the door.

“Great. Dad’s gonna kill me.” Susie’s shoulders dropped. “And I hate latrine duty.” She looked down at Frisk. “So what’s gonna happen to you?”

Frisk shrugged. “I don’t know. It’s the first time he’s grounded me and I’ve only been here four days.”

“Troublemaker. Nice. So what did your parents do to ground you?” 

"They didn't. I was always at boarding school. The school staff would confiscate things and remove privileges for rule violations."

Susie sighed, shaking her head. She sat down and pulled a notebook out of her bag. “At least this will be an easy project.” Uncapping a pen with her mouth, she drew a quick diagram. “We’ll go all myth busty on this. I’m betting, since I didn’t know the stuff was explosive, that others don’t either and that can be both our problem and our hypothesis on the left. On the right we put our results and in the middle the monitor to show off the explosion.”

Frisk sat down. “We’re going to need a way to ignite the powder from a safe distance.”

“The local bomb tech is Officer Papyrus Tarsus. And if I know him, he’s probably cleared us for a charcoal-sulfur black powder and potassium nitrate to create more oxygen when the black powder goes off.”

Frisk eyed her. “Are you on a watch list?”

Susie shrugged. “Probably. I learned all this stuff during a summer camp run by the Nightrest police one year. It was really cool. We did everything from helping train K-9’s for a day to mock search and rescue.” She trailed off, frowning. 

“What did your dad mean when he asked if you’d be okay? I mean, it’s no big secret that you’re adopted, but where are you from? You don’t have a weird accent or anything, but there aren’t that many humans in Nightrest. I don’t know enough about humans to know if you’re actually different or not.”

Frisk blinked a few times. “I don’t have an accent? That’s weird. I should. I'm from--” Frisk shook her head. “I don’t know what I’m allowed to talk about. It’s complicated.”

“You look a lot like Mr. Dreemurr. Are you Princess Christina’s love child or something?”

Frisk snorted and started laughing. “Oh God, no! I met her and there’s no way you’d convince me that she ever cheated on her husband. Besides, I’m the same age as James. And it’d be pretty weird to give birth to fraternal twins with two different fathers.” 

“Is it?” 

Frisk’s jaw dropped and Susie snorted before belting out a full laugh, hand covering her eyes.

“Oh man! The look on your face is the best!” Susie’s hand dropped from her face, sharp-toothed smile wide. “I kid! I kid!”

Frisk sighed only to jump at the bark of the dogs. Both girls looked out the front windows. A heavy mist covered the field, obscuring the trees at the far end. Toby and Niko stood at the edge of the patio barking madly as the mist approached the A-frames. The outline of something large, like a ghost in the white, pushed forward from the edge of the cloud, sending fog outward in a spray. A massive, brown bear stepped from the mist and howled.

“That is one, big bear,” Susie breathed. “I’ve never seen a bear that big on the ridge before.”

“That’s not a bear.”


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Frisk grabbed Susie’s arm, dragging the purple girl to her feet. “We gotta run!”

“Are you kidding?! We’re safer inside than out!” Susie pointed. “That’s hurricane glass on those windows. A bear is not coming through them!”

“It’s not a bear!” Frisk screamed. She gasped. “The doggos!”

Frisk let go of Susie and ran for the front door, wrenching it open.

“Boys! Come in!”

Neither dog left their spot on the edge of the patio, both still barking at the bear, poised to attack. Frisk ran out, grabbed the dogs' collars, and pulled. 

“Both of you! Come with me!”

The bear roared and charged the patio, rushing straight for Frisk. 

Susie ran out the door and grabbed the back of Frisk’s sweater. The ground shook from the pounding of the bear’s feet, sending the girls to the concrete in a heap; its snarls slamming against their ears. Susie found her feet first and picked Frisk up, holding her under one arm. She dashed for the front door only to find the house gone, shrouded in mist. The fog surrounded them, obscuring all but the patio, the dogs, and the charging bear. 

Susie pressed forward, one hand out, reaching for the glass front of the A-frame.

And found nothing. 

Frisk flailed. “Put me down!”

Susie let go. “The house isn’t here.” 

She turned in time to watch the bear barrel into the dogs. Niko and Toby both jumped at it, snarling, biting, and tearing. 

“Can’t monsters use magic?” Frisk cried, scrambling to her feet.

Susie grimaced. “Magic is something you learn! We don’t just know it!”

The bear thrashed, throwing Niko into the mist. It’s claw caught Toby and the dog hit the ground, panting heavily. 

“No!” Frisk screamed.

The bear rushed toward them, roaring. The girls dove out of the way, falling into the mist and rolling on wet grass. The bear jumped and slammed into Susie, knocking her to the ground, diving to bite. Frisk grabbed a rock and threw it, hitting the bear in the head. It roared and jumped at Frisk as she dove away. Susie found her feet and reached out, snagging Frisk’s sweater and pulling the human to her. Holding hands, they ran blind, hoping not to hit a tree head on. The bear was behind them, its bellows driving them further into the white darkness.

Frisk tripped over a tree root and crashed into a bush, pulling Susie with her. Both tumbled into the forest beyond the field and out of the mist. The bear's snarls were suddenly distant. 

"You okay?" Susie asked.

Frisk sat up. "I think so. You?"

"Been better."

"Where are we?" Frisk asked.

Susie sat up, rubbing the back of her head. "In the woods on the ridge. It sounds like it's trapped in the field."

"Do you want to bet your life on that?" Frisk asked.

"No." Susie crawled to her feet, only to crash down on one knee. "OOOOWW! My ankle!" 

Frisk stood and put an arm around Susie's waist. "I don't think I can support you. You're way too tall."

Frisk gasped, a half smile on her face. She stuck two fingers in her mouth and whistled, loud and sharp. 

"Dammit, Frisk!" Susie spat. "Are you trying to make me deaf?"

The sound of bells jingling filled the air and North Star appeared from behind a tree, silver chains hanging from his flower filled antlers.

"Hey, Boy! I need your help. Susie can't walk. Would you give her a ride?"

The elk huffed, bobbing its head.

Susie's eyes went wide. "Frisk. That's a fae creature."

"He's my pet."

"I'm not getting on that."

“It’s fine. His name is North Star. Just get on.”

“Not a chance!” Susie growled.

Frisk's nostrils flared, eyes turning white. "Get. On. The. Elk."

Susie paled and grabbed the saddle, climbing on. Frisk helped her balance.

"Which way do we go?" Frisk asked; eyes brown again.

Susie shuddered. "Up. The cell tower. There's an access road from there back to town."

The bear crashed through the bushes, mouth foaming with rage, sliding across the muddy ground behind them.

Frisk pointed up the ridge. "Go!"

North Star leaped forward, easily picking a way up the ridge, Susie holding on for dear life. Frisk followed, heading between trees that were too close together for the bear to follow without going around. The bear crashed against trees, thrashed through bushes, and scrambled over rocks, its howls deafening.

Susie disappeared into the forest ahead, only the soft glow of North Star's fur indicating where they were. Frisk took a hard left turn, running back for the field and the mist. The bear pivoted, chasing her, sharp claws clicking against exposed tree roots. Frisk jumped a fallen tree only for the bear to power through it, spraying the air with rotted wood shards. Frisk gritted her teeth against the biting debris, pouring on the speed as she entered the mist. 

Running blind, she thrust her hands in front of her to keep from smacking into a tree, which only served to slow her down. The bear gained on her, its breath hitting the back of her neck. Lungs burning, Frisk’s foot slipped on a slick leaf. She stumbled and claws caught her back, ripping through her sweater, slicking her back with blood. She screamed and slammed into something hidden in the mist, her face landing in soft fabric.

Long, thin arms wrapped around Frisk and time seemed to stand still; the bear’s attack somewhere distant and happening to someone else. Frisk whimpered as a thin hand ran down her back, fingers brushing lightly against the lacerations. A strange, burning sensation followed the touch and Frisk shuddered, holding onto the figure tightly.

The sound of a bell filled the air and the mist lifted, revealing the bear speared through on several bone spikes, blood splashing the ground. Susie stood next to Frisk, blinking in confusion. Niko and Toby both hopped around the bones, barking at the bear. Chara stalked across the field, eyes glowing a bright red, a sword in his hand. Sans followed, his left eye socket glowing. The bear howled and twisted against the bones, only driving them deeper.

Chara stopped in front of the bear. It snapped at his face, just out of reach.

“Sans.”

“*i gotcha.”

The bear’s soul, a glowing gray heart, lifted from its body.

“That’s a human soul,” Chara hummed. He looked at Sans. “Vessel it and take it to the Capital.”

Sans nodded. He held out a boney hand, and a blue glow appeared over his metatarsals, forming into a jar. He trapped the soul inside it.

Chara swung his sword, cutting off the bear’s head. The body turned to smoke, dissipating from around the bones. 

Letting out a held breath, he turned to Frisk. “Are you all right?”

Frisk ran to Chara, hugging him tightly around the waist. He held her, rocking her gently only to inhale sharply at the shredded back of her sweater. Pushing the bloody yarn aside revealed smooth, unmarred skin.

He looked up at Susie. “Are you okay?”

Susie sat down hard, knees drawn up, staring at the bones as they faded away. “What just happened?”

“Good question.” Chara turned Frisk. “Why aren’t either of you wearing shoes?”

Frisk looked at her torn up socks. “I ran out to grab the dogs and…” She shook her head. “Not important. Susie’s ankle is hurt.” 

Chara petted her hair, smoothing it back. “Head back to the house and get a change of clothes. I’ll get Susie.”

Frisk nodded and turned, trudging back to the house, only to have the dogs run over and flank her, darting happily around her legs.

Chara knelt, looking over Susie’s ankle and pressing on it while she held her breath. “It’s not broken, but you’ll feel better with it elevated.” He helped Susie up, slinging one of her arms over his shoulder. “When did you get this tall?”

For a moment, normal broke through and Susie smiled wide. “I’ve always been this tall!” She looked after Frisk. “Shit. Look at her sweater. It’s blood soaked, but her back looks fine.” 

Susie tucked her chin to her chest. “She’s not human, is she?” 

Chara sighed, watching the front door close behind Frisk. “Does it matter?”

“Shit yeah, it does! She’s fae, isn’t she? We aren’t supposed to go near them. They’re dangerous!”

“Tell me what happened.”

Susie gestured to the field. “This hella thick fog filled the area and the bear came out of it. Frisk said the house wouldn’t protect us. That we had to run and went out to grab the dogs. I followed. Once outside, the house was just gone and everything was white mist. The dogs attacked the bear and we ran for it. At the edge of the field, the fog stopped and we ran into the forest. That’s when I twisted my ankle.”

Susie’s eyes went wide, manic. “She whistled and a fucking fae creature came to her. This big ass, white elk! It even had a saddle on it! Like it was just waiting for her to call it! When I refused to get on it, her eyes turned white!

She shuddered. “You know how it is around Queen Toriel?” she whispered. “When she stops being Mrs. Dreemurr, school counselor, and becomes the Queen of All Monsters? It was like that. I don’t know if I got on the thing because she ordered me to, or because I was scared of her.

“She sent me off on the elk and I turned back in time to watch her lead the bear back into the fog. I was halfway to the cell tower when I heard a bell ring and I was standing next to Frisk in the field. I have no idea what happened to the elk.”

Chara inclined his head to the right. “He’s over there.”

North Star pawed the ground near the tree line before bending his neck and nibbling the grass.

Susie looked at Chara. “What is she?”

Chara stopped to look her in the eyes. “Does it really matter?”

“She just saved my life, so yeah. It does. I need to know who's back I’ve got.”

Chara smiled, and started moving again. “The details are fuzzy and it’s made worse by Frisk not being able to give any answers. She knows very little. But the bet is that she’s half fae. And you’ve just confirmed it.”

“The eye thing?”

“Partially. When I found her, she was a mess and covered in bull’s eye rashes.”

“But her skin’s clear. Look at her back! The sweater… It’s soaked in blood and her back is...” Susie trailed off.

“And her feet should be a mess from running barefoot at least. Your’s certainly are.”

“Yeah. But my kind of monster is supposed to be barefoot. I’m just muddy. Nothing a hose and towel won’t fix.” Susie huffed and it came out like a sigh. “Does she know what she is?”

“No.”

They stopped at A-frame’s front door. 

Chara sighed. “You’re moving into serious territory, Susie. The kind that means Sans might show up on your doorstep and make you forget today ever happened. And you can choose that if you want. We go in for pizza, you two finish up today’s work, and I drive you home with the memory of twisting your ankle for a totally normal, everyday reason.”

Susie frowned and shook her head. “No. And if that means I have to take some sort of magic oath on it because it’s got something to do with the royal family, fine. Frisk is my friend. And if someone wants her dead, they’re going through me first.”


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

A plume of white powder rocketed into the air and hung for a few scant seconds before igniting, creating a bright orange mushroom cloud of doom. Bruleed powdered creamer carpeted the blast area, smoking where little flames weren’t leaping. 

Frisk hooted loudly, jumping behind the blast shield.

“FUCK YEAH!” Susie yelled.

“Language,” Chara said.

“Sorry,” Susie apologized. “Still awesome!”

“Did we get it on the high speed?” Frisk asked, leaning around Officer Papyrus Tarsus to look at the laptop.

“WE DID INDEED!” the overly tall skeleton exclaimed. "YOUR PROJECT IS IN THE BAG! THE VIDEO IS RENDERING AS WE SPEAK. AS SOON AS IT IS FINISHED, I WILL UPLOAD IT TO THE PUBLIC SERVER AND YOU WILL BE ABLE TO SHOW IT AT THE FAIR."

"Sweet," Frisk said. "And Dr. Whitman already responded to our email. She'll have a monitor for us." 

Susie pulled out a notebook and uncapped a pen using her teeth. “Video, fair board, monitor, check, check, check. We set this up Monday morning, present the chemical reaction in the powder for the class, and we’re done.” She held out her fist for the bump and Frisk didn’t leave her hanging.

“AND NOW FOR THE NOT FUN PART: CLEAN UP.”

The girls shrugged and held out their hands for the wet brooms. They followed behind Papyrus sweeping up the unexploded creamer as he hit the remaining flames with a fire extinguisher.

Sans smiled. “*that was fun.”

Chara shrugged. “That’s Susie. If she can get away with blowing something up, she will. I peg her to be a rocket scientist. Lots of explosive fuel there.”

“*have you talked to her about yesterday?”

“Yeah. I even went over the very likely possibility that she’d be in serious danger.” Chara shook his head. “She’s determined to stick around. So with that in mind, maybe you should drop a hint on Dyne. If yesterday was any indication, we can’t be everywhere at once. But if Frisk has a friend willing to have her back, Undyne can work with that.”

“*gabe will have to approve it.”

“I doubt he’ll say no. Susie has the exact kind of bad record he likes to see.”

“*that’s all because of you,” Sans chuckled.

A smug smile filled Chara’s face. “Well, I did my kind a favor by turning out all right.”

“*i’m not touching that one. the fruit is hanging too low.”

“Smiley Trashbag,” Chara snorted.

“*yept.”

After cleaning up the disaster zone, Chara dropped Susie off at her house, a small cottage with a steep roof on the far end of Nightrest. It was made of stone, and looked like something a gnome would walk out of. There wasn’t a yard, just an overgrown vegetable garden kept vaguely in check by the fence around it. Frisk leaned over a bit, trying to get a look in the front door, but Susie’s large frame blocked any view inside.

Frisk slouched in her seat the rest of the way home only to sit up straight and point ahead as they approached the driveway next to the main A-frame. “There’s a black car at the house. Ooh! Looks like a luxury car!”

Chara nodded. “It’s your Uncle James and he probably brought Astelle.”

“Is Aunt Astelle here about the bear?”

Chara smiled. “I’d put money on it.”

“Why did she catch a ride?”

Chara sighed. “She doesn’t know how to drive. She had two accidents just learning and called it a wash. Remember your manners.”

Frisk nodded.

Chara parked next to the limo and Frisk slid out of her seat. Rounding the side of the house, she found the tall goat woman sitting on a patio chair, petting North Star.

Frisk stopped short and curtsied. “Good afternoon, Madam.”

Astelle smiled softly. “You don’t need to be formal with me, Frisk.” Her hand glided down North Star’s neck. “Is this stunning boy yours?”

Frisk nodded. “His name is North Star.”

“He’s very nice. Though I may have gained his good favor with an apple.”

Chara set his bag down. “Greetings, Astelle. I take it you have news.”

Astelle nodded. She gestured toward the house. “I have made tea.”

Chara snorted. “Correction. You had James make tea. Your tea is atrocious. Leaf water at best.”

Astelle pursed her lips, eyeing her brother. Frisk sucked in her lips to keep from laughing.

“Yes. I asked James to make tea,” Astelle huffed. “He’s here to deliver things for Frisk.”

Frisk blinked and then sucked in an excited breath. “The clothes that needed altering!” She curtsied before running inside the house.

Astelle smiled, watching her niece dash. “How are things?”

“Besides the bear attack?” Chara shrugged. “I was waiting for a PTSD episode during the experiment she and Susie did this morning, but nothing happened. So I don’t know what her triggers are. There are times when she’s tearful, but the only full on episode so far was just after I brought her to the house.”

“Susie is the child who was with her during the attack.”

Chara nodded. “She’s asked not to have her memory altered and I’m not surprised. Susie understands that the situation is serious, but Frisk saved her yesterday. She is loyal to the core to anyone she calls her friend.”

“A rousing endorsement.”

“I know my scouts.” Chara held the door for his sister and gestured for her to enter with a little bow.

Astelle chuckled and stood, her long purple robes swishing around her ankles. She curtsied to her brother, lifting her robes daintily while batting her eyes at him. Chara snorted and pushed her through the doorway. Inside, James, a tall man with dark hair and a rakish smile, poured mugs of hot chocolate for Frisk and Chara. Toby and Niko both sat at his feet, tails wagging in anticipation of a treat.

James poured himself some tea. “I heard you made your mother cry.”

Astelle gasped in mock horror. “Christopher! Did you make our mother cry? How could you?!”

Chara took a long sip of his drink before giving his sister and brother in law a wry smile. “Bite me.”

Frisk sipped her cocoa and looked up at him.

He sighed and pet her hair. “Do you want to stay for this? It involves you and you have every right to know. I won’t ask you to leave, but I’m not requiring you to stay either.”

Frisk nodded. “I’ll stay.”

Astelle climbed onto a bar stool. “Very well.” She sighed. “The bear was an assassin. One of several sent by Edmund Acernath to find and kill members of the Pierce line residing in Kaparia.”

“Edmund Acernath?” Frisk looked between Chara and Astelle. 

“Do you know him?” James asked.

Frisk nodded. “Not personally. He’s a ‘face’ politician. The kind of person you put out there to look good when the royal family can’t.” She frowned. “Something really crazy is going on, isn’t it?”

“It appears so,” Astelle answered. “The human soul in a bear ploy is rather ingenious, if cruel. The spell pulls the soul from a human and transfers it into an animal. So long as the soul is bonded to the animal, it will heal and get back up from any wound. The downside is that the soul can never return to its human body. The soul animates the body and once gone, dies.”

“The assassin was unaware that he would not be able to return to his human body after the soul transfer,” James said. “He was willing to divulge quite a bit after that revelation.”

“How did he get so far into Kaparia?” Chara asked.

“He was planted in Kaparia several months ago, before the revolution started. As an animal, he could pass through the barrier unhindered.” James took a sip of his tea.

“The revolution as a front for Acernath’s power grab is confirmed,” Chara said.

Astelle nodded. “It appears so.”

“But he’s a face guy,” Frisk interrupted. “He doesn’t have any kind of political power or anything near the kind of clout to pull off a coup. At least, I’m pretty sure he doesn’t have either. And he couldn’t actually sit on the throne. You need to have fae blood. He’s either a puppet fronting someone or he has some fae blooded family member behind the scenes actually sitting on the throne.”

“You must have fae blood to sit on the Andorini throne?” Astelle gestured to Frisk. “Please explain.”

“Okay. So this is how my Aunt Aramita explained it. Andorini is, properly, fae land. Humans just also happen to be there. The humans didn’t accept fae rule, and after a long and drawn out war, both sides agreed to an arranged marriage between a human and a fae and the offspring of that union would become the go-between. That child was ‘Tauronen the Piercer’ and he’s the progenitor of the royal family. Every Pierce descends from him. So long as someone with fae blood sits on the throne, the fae feel that they have control of their land.” 

Frisk sighed. “I know that’s a really simplistic explanation and likely to be way more complicated, but Aunt Aramita explained it to me when I was eight.” Frisk shrugged. “It was good enough for an eight year old’s questions.”

“Thank you,” Astelle said.

Frisk gave her an encouraged smile. “So if there’s one bear, there’s others, right? And won’t Edmund Acernath be suspicious of people not reporting back?”

Astelle nodded. “You are very perceptive. But you may also be in the clear on that front. The assassins were sent here to weed out Pierce blood but if the inability to transfer back to their bodies wasn’t a dead give away, Acernath didn’t expect them to come back. They would kill an innocent and be put down here. An animal attack. Awful, but something that happens.”

“How many more assassins are we talking about?” Chara asked.

“Five. The guard is handling it as we speak. Now that we know what to look for, they won’t be able to hide,” James said. 

“By the end of the day, it won’t be an issue,” Astelle declared. “I still have concerns that Acernath will realize his plan on Kaparia’s end is blown, but Chrissy is more worried about her vision.” 

James frowned. “She’s dead set that whatever the rabbit thing is, it has nothing to do with Andorini and everything to do with Frisk specifically.”

“Do you think Frisk’s situation in Andorini was about hiding her from whatever it is?” Chara asked.

“If we could get straight answers out of Mom and Dad about it, I think that may be the case. I believe the treaty they made is about Frisk and has always been about her, even before she was born,” Astelle said.

Frisk's eyes flicked between everyone. “I don’t understand.”

“None of us do,” James said. He gave her an encouraging smile. “It’s okay. You concentrate on being a normal kid and we’ll figure it out.”

Frisk bit her lip, looking down at her mug. She looked back up. “Is it okay if I ask Grandma? If it’s about me, maybe she’ll tell me.”

Astelle sighed through a smile. “You are welcome to try, but please do not be offended if she leaves you the same murky waters the rest of us are swimming in.”

Astelle shook herself and her smile turned happy. “Now, onto more pleasant matters.” She pulled a small bag out from under her robes. “Take one.”

Frisk reached in the bag and pieces of paper brushed her fingers. She pulled one out.

“Keep it secret!” Astelle warned.

Frisk quickly covered the paper with both hands.

Chara reached in the bag and pulled out a paper as well. He looked at it, snorted, and stuffed it in his pocket.

“What’s this for?” Frisk asked.

“For the Christmas party,” James said.

“Everyone will descend on my house for a full evening of making me miserable under the guise of a ‘good time,’” Chara said. 

“You love it,” James chuckled. He pointed to Frisk’s hands. “Since presents for everyone is a large expense, we just pull a name out of a bag and that’s who you are to gift. Check the paper real quick to be sure you didn’t pull your own name. Then again, Asriel has been known to pull his own name and just buy himself something lavish.”

“Him and those imported snail truffles,” Astelle sighed.

“Snails?” Frisk grimaced.

“Delicious,” Astelle sighed.

Frisk stuck out her tongue. “Yuck.”

“I’m with you, kiddo,” James agreed.

Frisk looked at the name on the paper. Astelle. She quickly shoved it in a pocket.

Astelle stood. “Our business is concluded.” She leaned over and kissed Chara’s cheek. “Unless something comes up, I’ll see you in a few weeks for the party.”

Chara hugged her.

James sighed. “Too short a visit.” He pointed to the couch. “Your clothes and a few other things that Chris was inspired to pick up are there.” He reached over and ruffled Frisk’s hair. “Stay safe, kiddo.”

Frisk nodded. 

Father and daughter saw their guests out to the patio and watched as the car drove away.

Frisk looked up at Chara. “Why did you make Grandma Toriel cry?”


	10. Chapter 10

Frisk sat next to Susie, both swinging their legs off the edge of the lean-to they'd claimed once the scouts had made it to campsite 'Serendipity' of Camp Whisper. Both watched the sky turn orange and then purple as the sun set, waiting to be called for dinner. The lean-to was Susie's favorite, or so she'd claimed. It had a longer overhang than the other nine lean-tos, and was painted a bright blue with yellow suns, white crescent moons, and silver stars. The other lean-tos were also brightly painted, and decorated in other themes: mountains, rainbows, animals, trees, insects. The lean-tos were hidden beyond the tree line of the clearing that marked the campsite on the side of Mt. Farnby.

The grassy clearing itself welcomed a large pavilion with an outdoor kitchen and several picnic tables. Behind the pavilion, and facing the lean-tos was a bathhouse. To the right, as Frisk saw it, was a large, stone ringed fire pit, bright flames roaring away, and to the left was the trail the troop hiked to the campsite.

"I'm glad the latrines are actual bathrooms here and not outhouses," Frisk said. She reached down, petting Toby, who was snuggled against her leg. "I wasn't expecting toilets that flushed let alone private washrooms with showers."

Susie nodded. "Oh yeah. We even have hot water! I mean, latrine duty sucks, but it's not so bad at Serendipity. If we were at the tabins at Cinder or the tent platforms at Red Arrow, we would just have outhouse style latrines and a trough to wash up outside." Susie stuck out her tongue. "Yuck."

Noelle waved to everyone from the pavilion. "Food's ready!"

Frisk slid off the edge of the lean-to, sneakers hitting leaf strewn ground. Toby followed her with a leap, tail wagging. Susie jumped the edge, sending up leaves as she landed, and sauntered down to the pavilion. The scouts of the Wolf Troop lined up at the outdoor kitchen to wash their hands and grab hot dogs to roast over the fire.

Once seated at the fire, Frisk elbowed Noelle. "Any chance I can get that ice cream recipe you and Snowy did for the science fair? It was delicious."

Noelle gave her a sheepish smile. "Actually, you'll have to ask him. He was the brains behind the project. I just provided the materials and set everything up."

Catti actually looked up from her phone. "Shocking."

Noelle shrugged, both hands coming up. "I just didn't feel like having to put work in it this time."

Catti went back to her screen. "Did you get your points?"

Susie smiled big, teeth sharp. "Oh yeah! Finished for the year!"

"How'd you get so many points so fast?" Frisk asked.

Suddenly, every scout was listening in, even if their eyes were pretending to be on their hot dogs. Susie gave them her best glare. And was disappointed by the lack of reaction.

"You can't pull being a punk with us, Susie," Felix, a yellow and black striped fish monster said. "We all know better."

"She's the Nightrest Science Ambassador," Addison, a green rabbit monster, explained.

Noelle's jaw dropped. "I thought-!"

"Called it," Alan said. He held out a hand to Parker, a blue rabbit monster and Addison's brother. Parker dug in the pocket of his uniform and pulled out a grubby gold coin, slamming it into Alan's hand.

Noelle continued her statement, "I thought that was Berdly. It's all he talks about."

Susie shrugged. "He can say what he wants. It keeps people from bugging me."

"Does he know?" Parker asked.

"Nah."

"I meant, does he know he's not the science ambassador?"

Everyone went quiet for a minute, before shrugging it off.

"So what does being the science ambassador entail?" Noelle asked.

"Oh. Uh…" Susie rubbed the back of her head, purple face taking on a reddish blush. "I go out to the really small, one room school houses in the rural parts of Kaparia with Dr. Whitman every two weeks to teach science classes to little kids." She smiled a little. "It's… a lot of fun."

"Makes sense that Berdly isn't the ambassador," Alan said.

"Why?" Frisk asked.

"He's a condescending twit," Catti answered. She glanced up from her phone for a moment. "Be prepared for a future project assignment with him and be doubly prepared for it to suck."

"I doubt Frisk will have a problem handling him," Susie chuckled.

Noelle looked to Frisk and gestured to Susie.

Frisk shrugged.

Susie huffed, disappointed. "She handled me, didn't she?"

"Says the girl who's great with the youngest scouts in the Nightrest Unit," Parker said.

Catti didn't even look up from her phone. Her hot dog started smoking. "Yeah. You can be a disaffected loner with a mean streak at school all you want. But here, you're our troop mate. We know better."

The hot dog caught fire and, still looking at her phone, she blew out the flames and started eating it off the stick.

"Anyone know what's on the menu for dinner tomorrow?" Parker asked between bites.

Mrs. Evans, a blue harpy and the troop leader answered, "The Eagle Scouts are responsible for dinner and they've opted for surprise, so none of us get to know what we're having until we get there." She fluttered unto a bench, one clawed foot holding her hot dog.

The scouts groaned.

"I really don't like surprise dinner," Frisk sighed.

"Whatever. Food's food," Susie said.

"At least they haven't poisoned us yet," Alan added.

"That's because the Eagles always make spaghetti. It'll be the same this time too. The surprise is our continued disappointment at the lack of originality," Catti monotoned.

Chara came off the trail, flashlight in hand, Niko trotting along with him. Frisk sighed, relieved.

Susie elbowed Frisk. "Hey. It's cool. Everything's good here."

Frisk shook her head. "It's not that. Just… I don't know."

Susie patted her shoulder. "It's safe here."

"You sure?"

"Is this about the bear attack?" Noelle asked. "Because there aren't bears on Mt. Farnby."

Frisk sank down. "Does everyone know about the bear attack?"

"Nightrest is small. Everyone knows everything about everyone," Parker said.

Catti glanced up at Frisk. "Well, mostly, anyway."

"Yeah. Anytime you wanna start spilling the beans, we're all ears," Parker added, his ears up waggling in Frisk's direction.

Frisk ignored the bait. "How are there no bears here?"

Chara sat at the campfire with a hot dog. "I guess it is time for the 'locals talk' and the locals are the reason."

He put his hot dog over the fire. "I know you've all heard this a hundred times before, but you're going to hear it every camping trip and every long distance hike until you're no longer a scout. There are fae who live on Mt. Farnby. This is their home, and they don't mind us or the camp being here. They keep the camp clear of bears, wolves, and mountain lions and maintain the trails when scouts and camp staff aren't around to do it. That said, they are not to be trifled with. They are dangerous. Do not go near them. If you happen on a fae, leave them alone. If a fae greets you, be courteous, but do not engage in conversation. Are we clear?"

"Yes, Mr. Dreemurr," the Wolves intoned.

"Don't be Addison," Mrs. Evans said.

"Don't be me," Addison agreed.

"What did you do?" Frisk asked.

"Mouthed off to a fae." The rabbit shuddered. "It tied me up and left me on the other side of the mountain. Niko and Toby found me."

Chara rubbed his temples. "Not one of my favorite days." He waved toward the bathhouse. "The water up here was switched to the main line a couple months ago, so we don't have to worry about whether or not it's potable." He eyed Wolves. "However, the hot water tank is still the same size, so no long showers."

"Alan," Catti said under her breath.

"Bite me," Alan snarked.

"Not hard to do. You don't exactly run fast."

"And Catti spikes another one over the net!" Felix chortled.

Chara and Mrs. Evans gave each other the same, amused smile.

"We good?" she asked.

"We're good," he answered.

Mrs. Evans finished her hot dog. "Mr. Dreemurr is making us breakfast."

"Yes! Bacon and pancakes!" Felix shouted.

Chara gave him a devious smile. "I don't remember saying I was making bacon and pancakes. I might just put out cereal."

"Oh please don't, Mr. Dreemurr. It'll be cold enough in the morning that I'll have trouble moving as it is," Alan whined.

"Yes, it's bacon and pancakes," Chara chuckled. He leaned toward Mrs. Evans. "And hot dogs for you."

She leaned toward him, her head touching his. "I knew you loved me."

"Anything for you, Shirley."

Evening moved swiftly, a warm and welcome darkness crawling in over the clearing, the sky lighting with a thousand, twinkling stars. As the Wolves finished their hot dogs, they switched to roasting marshmallows for smores. Mrs. Evans started talking about wilderness survival and environmental hazards, asking the kids to mentally run through scenarios.

"We're here at Serendipity. Tomorrow morning you wake up and it's snowing heavily. A blizzard has hit the area unexpectedly. What's the first thing you do?" she quizzed.

"Make sure Alan is warm," Felix said.

"Make sure I'm warm," Alan repeated.

"Pick up Alan and Felix and move all three of us into the bathhouse to stay warm," Susie said.

"Very good," Mrs. Evans said. "Knowing your needs and the needs of your troop mates is very important. Alan, Susie, and Felix are cold blooded and need warmth their bodies cannot provide. What else?"

Noelle waved. "Pack up our gear and food and move to the access road on the far end of the campsite."

"Why?" Chara asked while sliding a toasted marshmallow into a mug of hot chocolate.

"The access road is the fastest and easiest way down the mountain. Even if the camp master hasn't come through with a plow, it's still way easier to get down than the trail," Addison answered.

"Excellent. It's still a blizzard and you're on the access road. You know that no one is coming up the mountain to get you. Where do you go?" Chara asked.

"Pinecone Lodge. It's at the bottom of the access road, closest to the camp parking lot, i.e. rescue, and has its own generator if the power goes out," Parker answered. "It also has a fireplace, a covered wood box, and all the non-perishable food used by the camp staff during the summer stored there."

"Those non-perishables are behind a locked door," Chara pointed out.

Susie snorted, amused. "Not an issue."

Mrs. Evans elbowed Chara. "Are we raising scouts or hoodlums?"

"Both." Chara waved toward the pavilion. "There's hot chocolate on the camp stove. I've already put out mugs. Everyone is responsible for washing their mug when they're done."

The kids jumped up and rushed the pavilion.

Mrs. Evans sighed, one clawed foot reaching out to scratch Niko behind the ears. "Frisk was nervous after you went up the trail with the Eagle Troop."

Chara nodded. "She's still cooling down after the attack. It will be a bit until she isn't nervous."

"Do you think she'll be okay tonight?"

He smiled as the kids came back over with their hot chocolate, Frisk sitting next to him. He put an arm around her shoulders. "It'll be fine."

When the lights inside Chara's and Mrs. Evans' tents had been out for an hour, the Wolves snuck over to Susie and Frisk's lean-to. Susie sat up as Addison hopped up to the platform in one bound. The rabbit girl gently pressed a furred finger to Frisk's lips.

"Shhh."

Frisk looked over at Susie and got a thumbs up. Noelle tied a blindfold over Frisk's eyes.

The Wolves led Frisk away from the lean-to, Susie and Felix holding her arms to keep her from tripping, and onto the trail down the mountain. Toby followed along, trotting next to Frisk. Once they were out of sight of the pavilion, the Wolves switched on their flashlights. Halfway down the mountain, they turned off onto a side trail blazed a neon orange. Frisk held tightly to Susie and Parker, only just managing to keep her feet when they stopped.

The blindfold came off to reveal an empty clearing bathed in silvery moonlight, and made bright by the white of the surrounding birch trees. Every blade of grass sparkled with the early sign of an overnight frost pricking the tips. Frisk turned a circle looking at the trees and stopped dead, eyes on what appeared to be a woman by the shape of her legs alone, her head hidden under a hood, sitting in a tree. In her gray, cracked hands was a teacup and saucer. Lined all along the branches around her were the dark outlines of owls with eyes like orange flames. Or were they teapots with an unusual shine?

Addison turned Frisk around. "It's time to make you a wolf."

"Initiation!" Susie barked, fist pumping the air.

Frisk looked back over her shoulder at the woman in the tree. "Uh.. guys…"

Noelle turned her back around. Catti held a face paint kit while Noelle painted Frisk's face, making her look like a wolf.

"Now you need to walk on all fours!" Alan crowed.

Frisk watched as the typically four legged of the monsters hit the ground.

Felix grabbed her hand. "Come on. This part's a pain for me too."

They both got on their hands and knees. The group shot off, running around the clearing, Frisk struggling to keep up with all but Alan and Felix, Toby following with happy yips. The group circled Frisk and Addison knocked her over, rolling her across the cold grass.

"Time to roll around!" the rabbit girl said.

Toby rolled on his back with the rest of the scouts, all of them giggling.

Susie sat up first. "And now we howl at the moon!"

What started as howls turned into laughter and Toby's loud barking.

"Such noisy children. Don't you know to be in bed at this hour?"

The Wolves froze for a moment before finding their feet and looking around for the source of the voice. Out of the tree line crept a thing too tall and too slender for the rotting cloak wrapped around it. Skin just this side of sickly green pulled back from a mouth filled with cracked, jagged teeth. A half rotted nose and sunken black eyes completed a face surrounded by stringy gray hair and a mass of black feathers.

"It's him," Addison whispered.

Parker stepped in front of her.

"So you didn't learn your lesson the last time, Rabbit? And this time you brought others along? Naughty children need to be taught a lesson."

Frisk stepped in front of the group. "You're a night dweller, so we didn't wake you and we weren't making that much of a ruckus. You're just being a jerk. Picking on us because you think you can."

The fae stepped closer, sickly green lights glowing from the black sunken depths of his eye sockets. "Ah, does the little human think she can talk back to me? I own this mountain."

Frisk called the bluff. "No you don't."

"Frisk!" Susie reached out to grab Frisk's arm only for Frisk to step out of reach.

Frisk squared her shoulders as the fae approached. Toby leaped in front of Frisk, growling and ready to attack. The fae paused, green light pinpricks on the dog as the air filled with the sound of sleigh bells. North Star stepped from the tree line, shaking himself, and sending a cascade of flower petals to the shining grass. He trotted to Frisk and snuffed at her cheek before taking up position next to Toby and pawing the ground threateningly.

The fae froze in place, the green lights disappearing from black nothing of his eye sockets. He stepped back, kneeling on one knee, one green clawed hand covering his chest while the other reached out to the side, his head bowing so low his stringy gray hair touched the grass.

"I offer my deepest apologies."

Frisk felt something in her right hand and she gripped it tightly. Looking down, she held a sword, white and ghostly. She could almost see through her own hand, so pale, so white, and ethereal. She opened her hand and the sword disappeared as it fell.

Frisk looked up at the fae. "Begone."

The fae glanced up at Frisk and then fled, a shadow disappearing in the tree line.

Addison crashed into Frisk, hugging her tightly. "Thank you!"

"Addie," Parker started. "Don't just..."

"I don't care! Frisk saved us!"

Frisk looked back at everyone, blinking at their shocked stares. "What's wrong?"

Susie huffed, shaking her head at the white, wisp of a thing slowly solidifying back into a human in front of her. "Nothing. Nothing's wrong."

Susie knocked her on the back, mostly to confirm to herself that Frisk was still solid. "Welcome to the newest Wolf!"

"Welcome, Wolf!" the others yelled before letting out a combined howl.

Frisk ducked a little, shoulders coming up against the noise, and glanced up to spot the woman still sitting in the tree, the tea cup in her hand disappearing under the hood for a sip.

Noelle reached out toward North Star. "Is he yours? Can I pet him?"

"You don't just pet a fae creature!" Alan sputtered.

"It's cool. I've already ridden him," Susie said.

"You got on that," Felix pointed at the elk, "willingly?"

Susie shrugged. "It's how Frisk got me away from the bear after I twisted my ankle."

"Ask him first and be gentle," Frisk said. She reached out and North Star came up under her hand, now looking solid; human. She rubbed his snout. "His name is North Star. And don't stand right behind him. It will make him nervous. He can't see back there and might kick you without meaning too."

The Wolves gathered around the elk, hands gently touching its neck, fingers sliding along the silver ornaments hanging from his horns, causing them to jingle. Catti made a bowl of her hands, catching flower petals as they rained from North Star's antlers.

"I don't mean to cut us short, but it's getting really late." Alan made for the neon orange trail. "Let's get back before Mrs. Evans or Mr. Dreemurr find out we're gone."

The Wolves ran for the trail, Toby and North Star trotting behind.

Chara and Shirley remained hidden in the trees near the trail, waiting for the children to pass.

"A fae child?" Shirley whispered.

"Half fae, half human," Chara confirmed.

"She had a sword."

"It's like mine: a manifestation of Determination."

"Yet she offered mercy instead," Shirley hummed. "A noble as well. She doesn't seem to be aware of it."

"She isn't. Though the rest of them are going to be all over her about it any opportunity they get." Chara sighed. "We'll have to make sure they have opportunities."

Shirley reached over with one, blue feathered wing, rubbing his back. "I know it's hard. This is something you can't explain to her because you don't know enough about it either. And it's hard to trust that the troop will bond with her. But kids have a way of figuring things out for themselves, among themselves. We saw that with Susie."

Chara patted her wing. "Thank you. Follow the kids back. I need to have a word with the fae. The incident with Addison was within his rights. This time, he broke covenant with the camp."

Shirley frowned darkly. "A word or a sword?"

"Both."

"Good." The harpy jumped, shooting into the air to fly above the canopy back to the campsite.

Chara lifted a hand, snapping his fingers with the cast of a cantrip, and dashed across the field, his magic easily lighting up the trail of the retreating fae. He followed it into the valley and Camp Whisper proper at the bottom of the dam on the camp's lake. In an alcove by the water run off made too dark by the fae's presence, the creature huddled, covering its face and moaning lowly.

Chara stood over it, a sword appearing in his hand. "I find it interesting that, after our last conversation, you thought that threatening my scouts a second time would be a good idea."

"I won't go near them again! I swear! Just don't… don't let the bright one near me."

Chara smirked. "No need to swear on it."

The fae gasped and backed up, only to hit the concrete wall. "There's no need for revenge!"

"Revenge? This isn't revenge. You meant serious harm to my scouts. To my daughter." Chara lifted the sword. "I am merely returning the favor."

The fae's sickly green skin paled. "Daughter?!"

His sword cleaved through the fae's head, splitting it like a melon. The fae hadn't even time to shriek before his body caught fire, burning with blue flames, and quickly turning to smoking ash. Chara pulled on his campfire gloves and reached down, gathering a handful of the ashes.

"And just in case you are the kind who has the phoenix ability, I'll be taking some of you with me. There won't be reconstitution without all of your parts."

Chara kicked the remains on the ground, scattering the ash across the run off from the dam.

He turned and came full stop, staring up at the bare, pale legs of a fae sitting in the tree above him, its face hidden under a dark hood. Owls filled the branches of the trees around it, all watching him with orange eyes.

"Do you object?" he asked.

The voice came like a whisper and it wrapped around his ears. "No."

Chara relaxed, head cocking back. "Well then?"

The sound was so soft, it tickled his ears. "You call the noble child your daughter."

"She is my daughter."

"But not of your blood."

"Considering my own situation, I know that to not be a requirement." Chara took a chance, "Can you tell me anything about her?"

"She is like all of your kind. Hidden away, even from herself."

"Why?" he asked.

"The fae love their children deeply and they love those children with human blood desperately so. But such children are prized by the Farrath and it is a creature we cannot fight. That is all I can give you, but it should be enough." As the voice faded, so did the fae, disappearing as if it had never been.

Chara gave the fading image a bow. "Thank you, Whisper."


	11. Chapter 11

Chara sat up against the headboard of the bed, bathed in soft touches of firelight, his wife laying against his bare chest. She turned a bit, snuggling against him while rubbing her cheek against his skin. Her hand reached up, coming to rest on his shoulder. He took that hand in his, lifting it to kiss her fingertips.

“Tell me about Frisk,” she asked.

“Which one? You or her?”

She pouted and swatted at him, earning a chuckle. 

Chara smirked. “She’s a little trouble maker.”

“Like you then?”

“Oh I was much, much worse.” 

Chara stared at the golden lights in her hair, the way the firelight made her skin glow. Or was that just the way she always looked? Soft, inviting. Perfect. Eyes like glittering peridots. She turned against his chest, her breasts pressed between them. A sensation that was more than enough to stir him. 

“Does her fae half bother you?”

Chara shook his head to clear away the heady mix of profound love and unsatiated desire. He pushed his hair out of his face. “No. It just is. All part of the greater mystery. Someone went to great lengths to hide her, even from herself.”

“She’s not the only one.” She pushed herself up toward him, their lips a breath apart. “You need to call Gabe.”

Chara woke up on his back, staring at the ceiling of his green, dome tent, and groaned, hands coming up to cover his face. 

“Damn it all!”

Niko pawed at his hands and Chara let them fall with a sigh. 

He reached up to pet the dog. “Hey, Boy.”

The tent, made bright by morning light as it crested the mountain, was a poor substitute for the late Frisk’s warmth; her beautiful smile. 

“People ask me when I’m going to move on.” He took Niko’s face in his hands. “How can I? She’s a brand on my heart; my soul.”

Niko offered no answers.

Letting go of the dog, Chara grabbed his backpack, fumbling for his phone. The time came in at 0716 and he sighed. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, closing his eyes to listen. The birds that made the mountain their home sang. Mrs. Evans snored heavily in her tent. None of the Wolves stirred.

Satisfied, he opened his eyes and dialed Gabriel. 

The Captain of the Royal Guard picked up on the first ring. “Are you okay? Is Frisk all right?”

“We’re fine. Just reporting in. One of the more troublesome fae at Camp Whisper threatened the kids. Frisk transformed and ran it off.”

“She turned fully fae?” Gabe asked.

Chara reached over and pet Niko’s back. “Ghostly white with antlers. I’m pretty sure that if she’d stayed in the form long enough, the antlers would have sprouted flowers and ornaments.”

“Then her father, whoever he is, is one of the nobles.”

“Looks that way,” Chara said. “It matches up if Aramita is the Pierce family sacrifice. She’d have grown up in the fae court.” He sat up. “I ran into Whisper last night and on the off chance that she might know something, I asked her about Frisk.”

“Did she know anything?” Gabe asked.

“About Frisk specifically, no. But about half fae like Frisk, yes. She said that half fae children are prized by something called the ‘Farrath.’ She said that the fae cannot fight whatever this thing is, and I got the impression that the fae go to some pretty extreme lengths to protect their half fae children from it.”

“Like how Frisk seems to know and not know things,” Gabe mused. “I’ll start digging up information. Did she say anything else?”

“No. She’s as quiet as her name.” Chara yawned. “Sorry.”

“Old men like you shouldn’t be up so late,” Gabe quipped.

“Ha ha.” Chara scratched the back of his head. “If the kind of thing we’re seeing with Frisk is any indication, it means the fae manipulate their half human child in some way. Makes me wonder how many are out there, not knowing who they are.”

“Call Chrissy and give her the name. It might spark something.”

“Will do,” Chara said. “Talk to you later.”

“See you soon.” Gabe hung up. 

Chara dialed his twin. 

Christina answered, yawning. “I’m warning you: I haven’t had any ‘Chrissy Juice’ yet.”

“I might have the name of the rabbit thing you keep seeing. Are you somewhere safe in case hearing it triggers a vision?”

“Let me sit down. Rose? Move your books.” 

Chara waited while his sister situated herself, listening to the scraping of chairs and kitchen implements.

“Hit me, Bro.”

“Farrath.”

An awful buzz filled Chara’s head and he squeezed his eyes shut. “Christina!”

“It’s looking at me, Chara,” Chrissy said calmly. Too calmly. “Like it’s been searching for me for a very, very long time.”

Rose’s voice sailed through the speaker. “Mom?”

“Break off the vision!” Chara yelled.

“No. It can’t reach me. It knows about you, Chara. It’s looking for you too. But it can’t see you. Why can it see me, but not you?”

“What does it want from us?” he asked. 

“It wants us for the same reason it wants Frisk.”

Chara fell back, his head hitting his pillow. He blinked at the green tent ceiling. “She said your kind. She was talking about me too,” he whispered.

“About us, Christopher.” She sighed deeply. “You need to read our file.”

Chara sat up straight, incensed. “Christina.”

“No, Christopher. Listen. Your resistance to it. The way you feel about our biological parents. Those are built in defense mechanisms. And I think they were designed to keep this thing away from us.”

“Our parents are--”

“Not the people you think they are.”

“You’ve read the file,” he growled. “You promised me that you wouldn’t!”

“I read it when I was pregnant with Rose. I needed to know if there was something about our parents that was important medically for my children.”

“I don’t believe it,” Chara huffed. But he did. It was reasonable.

“Who am I, Christopher?”

“My sister.”

“Your twin. I know you and you know me better than anyone. You have to read the file.”

“Uh… What if reading the file is what makes Uncle Chara visible to whatever this thing is?” Rose asked.

Chrissy’s voice changed, taking on an ethereal quality. “There is no threat that can stand before your Uncle.”

“Why?” Chara asked, grasping at any straw to change his future course. “Why should I?”

“Because I’m tired of that cold lump of hate sitting in your heart. It doesn’t belong there. It’s artificial. Let it go.”

“They abandoned us!”

“We weren’t abandoned at the park.” Chrissy sighed. “It’s looked away. It’s frustrated. It can’t get to me. I wonder why. It hasn’t found Frisk yet, but it’s close. It’s gone.”

Rose’s voice trembled. “Mom?”

“Rose, go to your room and close the door.”

“Okay.”

A few moments later, Chrissy sighed again. “Please. Please come home and read the file.” She sucked in a breath, choking back a sob. “You pulled my name out of the bag, right? Make that my Christmas present.” She hung up.

Chara dropped the phone and put his head in his hands. “And now I’ve made C cry.”

Sighing, he changed into his scout uniform and climbed out of the tent, Niko following. He hit the bathhouse to wash his face and brush his teeth before refilling Niko’s and Toby’s water bowls and putting out their kibble at the pavilion. Grabbing his striker, he turned to the firepit and found a fire already blazing, Sans tending it. 

Chara washed his hands before prepping pancake batter and oiling down the big cast iron pan made for the fire pit. Deciding to waste a bit of magic on it, he made the cast iron float out to the fire and set itself over the flames before carrying the batter and bacon packs out to the pit. Setting up a folding table to be his staging area, Chara started pouring pancakes. 

“Hey, Comedian. Thanks for getting the fire started.”

Sans relaxed on the ground, leaning against a log, his blue hoodie zipped up. He was still in his black shorts and pink house slippers. “*you okay, bud?”

Chara sighed. “I don’t know. Why?”

“*the ‘holy shit! all hands on deck!’ bell went off in my skull, and i teleported over to find you brushing your teeth.”

Chara poked at the bubbles forming on the edges of the pancakes, popping them slowly, methodically. “I didn’t know mental health protection was a royal guard assignment.”

“*welp, you don’t exactly need physical protection. i gotta do something with my time.”

“You’re assigned to my mother.”

“*and you, bud.”

“I thought that was Dyne.”

Sans shrugged.

“Have you read my file?”

“*it’s required for the assignment.”

Chara flipped the first set of pancakes. “What’s it say?”

Sans shrugged. “*i’m more interested in what it doesn’t say.”

“Not helpful, Sans.”

“*very helpful. keep that in mind when you see gabriel about it. then again, it has a tendency to suddenly have more information in it from time to time.” Sans disappeared.

Chara frowned and plated a stack of pancakes. He poured out more batter and began laying the bacon, knowing it would wake the Wolves. 

Mrs. Evans fluttered onto the log behind Chara at the fire pit with a mug of coffee in one taloned foot. She took a sip while Chara poked at the bacon.

“That was Officer Tarsus. Is everything okay?”

Chara nodded. “He was checking in.”

"The Wolves are still asleep," Shirley observed.

"It was a late night for them."

"It looks like Addison is curled up with Frisk."

“Well, we tend to be that way about the people who save us.” Chara looked over his shoulder and gave Mrs. Evans a smile. “Do you want your hot dogs now or after the kids have eaten?”

“I’ll take them now. The bacon’s going to wake them up as it is.” She waved a wing at North Star. “The fae elk?”

“Frisk’s pet.”

“Do you want to talk, Chara?”

Chara sighed. “I don’t know. I’ll get your hot dogs and see how I feel about it in a few minutes.”

Chara flipped the pancakes in the pan before taking a quick run over to the pavilion and grabbing hot dogs from the fridge. On his way back, he looked over at the lean-to Frisk shared with Susie, and now Addison. North Star slept at the lean-to’s edge, head drooping slightly.

Frisk blinked up at the roof of the cabin, trying to figure out where she was. This wasn’t Marble Hills. 

That’s right. It was an outing. 

Aunt Aramita had taken her to Camp Maple Leaf at the foot of Mt. Ebott. A rare camping trip combined with a visit to see the fae court Aramita had grown up in. They’d been up late, watching Prince Silro compete in an archery competition. He was tall, hair and skin as white as snow, and his antlers were filled with silver chains and ornaments. His face was more human than the Queen’s deer-like countenance, but still alien. Lady Tarisse, Prince Silro’s betrothed, sat next to Frisk. She was as tall as Silro, but her horns twisted much like a ram’s over copper red hair. Frisk had felt so small sitting on Tarisse’s lap, the strong arm holding her close. She watched the competition while the adults talked over her head.

When the last arrow was loosed, Silro was declared the winner to great applause. His Queenly mother presented him with a bouquet of golden yellow flowers which he accepted with a graceful bow. The audience burst into cheers as he lifted the bouquet, each clamoring to be gifted. Encouraged by Lady Tarisse, Frisk jumped to her feet and waved, giggling. Prince Silro turned with a warm smile and placed the bouquet in her arms. Aunt Aramita had laughed at her shock while Lady Tarisse leaned in and kissed her cheek.

“Aunt Ara? What time is it?” 

Getting no response, Frisk lifted her head slightly and saw light cresting over the trees. It wasn’t a window in front of her. The whole wall was gone. But that mattered little as panic crept up her spine. She had to be back at Marble Hills today.

“We have to get up! We’re going to be late!”

Frisk pulled at the zipper, struggling to get out of her sleeping bag except something heavy was on it. She kicked and got a yelp. Toby shifted off of her and padded over, putting his snout in her face. 

“Toby?” She sat up, blinking away the convergence of dream and memory. She reached up, petting his head. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to kick you. Are you all right?”

Toby gave her cheek a comforting lick. 

“That night with Aunt Aramita was years ago.” She stared at her sleeping bag, retracing the night. “I was out with the Wolves and a fae threatened us. It bowed to me when I stood up to it and ran when I told it to leave.” She looked up at Toby. “Why?” 

The dog just wagged his tail.

Looking around, she found North Star sleeping at her feet, flower petals littering the bottom half of the lean-to. 

Susie sat up, rubbing her eyes. “Oh man. What time is it?” she yawned.

Frisk reached for her bag and found she couldn’t go far. Addison lay against Frisk’s side. Addison rolled over, one furry arm stretching out from under her sleeping bag covered in blue, cartoon bunnies, to hold Frisk tightly. The rabbit hadn’t stirred when Frisk had thrashed about. Toby helpfully trotted over to her bag and dragged it to her.

Frisk twisted the strap her watch was attached too, squinting at the tiny, digital face. "Eight hundred."

Susie fell back and rolled on her side. “Breakfast isn’t until eight thirty. Wake me then.”

“Okay.”

Frisk slipped Addison’s arm and crawled out of her sleeping bag. Pulling the privacy curtain over a bit, she changed into her uniform, sighing a little at the familiarity of not having to think about what she was going to wear for the day. When she pushed the curtain back, North Star lifted his head, snuffing at her leg. She knelt next to him and pet his neck.

"Chara's not going to be happy to see you." Frisk froze. “Wait.” She stared at the floor hard. “I’ve never gone with Aunt Aramita to see the fae.”

Frisk spotted Chara at the campfire, flipping pancakes in a huge, cast iron pan, Mrs. Evans sitting behind him. Frisk scrambled to pull on her hiking boots before leaping from the lean-to, and stopped. She turned and climbed back up into the lean-to, sitting next to North Star.

“I think something’s wrong with my memory, Boy.” 

She looked up at Chara, watching him pour pancake batter.

“Should I tell him? I mean, is it okay to trust him? At some point I need to tell someone something, but…”

Her shoulders dropped with her sigh, head hanging. 

“It’s fae stuff and, well, he doesn’t hate them. But he avoids them as much as he can, like staying away is desperately important.”

North Star rested his head on her legs, his antlers pressing against her chest. Frisk laid back, staring up at the lean-to’s ceiling.

“What if… what if I have seen the fae with Aunt Aramita? And me not remembering is important for some reason?” 

Frisk propped herself up on her elbows, eyes on her elk. “Fae aren’t some unknown in Andorini, so why did you hide as a horse there? Where do you come from?”

North Star snorted and lifted his head, shaking his antlers and covering her in flower petals. 

“Sorry. I guess having fae creatures as pets isn’t exactly common.” She sat up, curling herself a bit to pet his head while avoiding his antlers. “Who gave you to me? You were a gift. There’s no reason Marble Hills should have kept you for one rider. Whoever it was had to be important or at least have a lot of money to make it happen. Marble Hills wasn’t exactly cheap.”

“Hey,” Susie called, “Do you remember last night?”

Frisk turned her head. “With the fae? Yeah.”

“No.” Susie sat up. “I mean you. Do you remember the white, wispy skin? The antlers?”

Frisk blinked at her. “What?”

“Yeah. Something’s up with your memory.” Susie kicked her sleeping bag off and crawled over to sit next to Frisk. “You turned into a fae last night.”

“I... what?” Frisk shook her head. “No. No way.” 

Addison stirred, sitting up to rub her eyes.

“I’m not joking,” Susie said. “You turned all white and had horns.”

“You looked like a beautiful ghost,” Addison added, stretching. She crawled out of her sleeping bag to sit next to Frisk.

"I… oh no." She looked toward Chara, her heart sinking. "Do you think he saw?"

"Your Dad?” Susie asked. “No. It was just the troop last night."

Frisk sighed. 

Susie frowned and scratched her head. "Hey. We'll figure it out, okay?"

Addison frowned. “You didn’t know?”

“I have no idea what’s going on.” Frisk flopped on her back. "I keep remembering all these weird things that seem real, but when I think about them, they can’t have really happened. And I also turn into fae? Chara doesn't like the fae being around as it is. "

"You're worried about that?” Susie asked. “Your Dad's not going to kick you out."

Frisk closed her eyes. "I’ve only been here all of what, two weeks? You don't know that."

"Yeah. Actually I do,” Susie huffed. “He’s a really good guy. And he knows you’re fae. He told me."

Frisk sat up, staring at Susie. "I… I don't know how to process that." 

Addison shrugged. “If it came up for us last night, I doubt it hasn’t come up before. We just need to figure out why you don’t remember.” She patted Frisk’s shoulder. “Let’s get some breakfast and some answers.”


End file.
